clarityviellegq67.blogspot.com
TOUSA plans to complete and sell all homed currentlyunder construction. Moody said the new company will beprivatelhy held, locally owned and financed. “Our managementf team has over 70 years’ combined he said. The new compant plans to build 60 homes rangint in pricefrom $160,000 to more than $600,000 in the firsgt 60 days of operation, which will officially begin June 15. Moody said 55 employees of TOUSA will remainj with the new company after TOUSAq winds down its localbusiness operations. TOUSA’z predecessor company was founded in Houston in 1983 as and completed an initiakl public offering inMarch 1998. In Decembed 1999, TOUSA Inc.
acquired 80 percent of Newmark’e stock. TOUSA Inc. also acquired 100 percenty of then-public in Novembert 2000. On June 25, 2002, Engled merged with Newmark, and the merged company changed its name toTOUSAA Inc. In March, Hollywood, Fla.-based TOUSA (Pink Sheets: TOUSQ) told the it plannefd to lay off 156 people in the Houston area from its Newmarkj Homes brand beginning May 22 due to the downturnb in thehousing market.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
N.C. lures Apple to build $1B data center - San Antonio Business Journal:
youngmanmeledero1636.blogspot.com
The facility will employ at leasgt 50people full-time. Perdue did not disclos a specific location forthe facility, but Charlotte Businesx Journal reported that Apple is that would put the servefr farm in in Catawba County, northwest of The Apple announcement came Wednesday morning after Perdue signed legislatiobn that modifies the method by which capital-intensive businesses calculatw corporate income tax liabilit y in the state. The new law could lower Apple'a tax bill by $46 million over the next decad e ifthe company's spends at leasyt $1 billion on its servetr farm.
As part of the legislation, a capital-intensiver industry must meet investment and wage standardse and provide its employees with healthn insurance in order to utilize the modifiedf formula for calculating the state corporateincomd tax, the governor’s office said. It also must locate in one of the state’se more economically distressed Tier 1 or Tier 2 The legislation requires that the averagew wage exceed the wage standardr of the county inwhich it’s A data center such as this will typically contract locallhy for services such as server maintenance and repair, building and HVAC maintenance, landscapingt and security – expenditures that the governor’s office says could range from $5 million to $6 millionn annually in the regiojn and create up to 250 jobs.
“North Carolina continues to be a prims location for growing and expanding globaltechnology companies,” Perdue said in a writtehn statement. “We welcome Apple to North Carolina and look forwarde to working with the company as it begins providing a significan t economic boost to local communities and the The North Carolina Department of Commerc projects that a data centerd investmentof $1 billion would create more than 3,000 jobs in the regionak economy, including hundreds of jobs related to constructiob and others created as a result of economix growth.
The facility will employ at leasgt 50people full-time. Perdue did not disclos a specific location forthe facility, but Charlotte Businesx Journal reported that Apple is that would put the servefr farm in in Catawba County, northwest of The Apple announcement came Wednesday morning after Perdue signed legislatiobn that modifies the method by which capital-intensive businesses calculatw corporate income tax liabilit y in the state. The new law could lower Apple'a tax bill by $46 million over the next decad e ifthe company's spends at leasyt $1 billion on its servetr farm.
As part of the legislation, a capital-intensiver industry must meet investment and wage standardse and provide its employees with healthn insurance in order to utilize the modifiedf formula for calculating the state corporateincomd tax, the governor’s office said. It also must locate in one of the state’se more economically distressed Tier 1 or Tier 2 The legislation requires that the averagew wage exceed the wage standardr of the county inwhich it’s A data center such as this will typically contract locallhy for services such as server maintenance and repair, building and HVAC maintenance, landscapingt and security – expenditures that the governor’s office says could range from $5 million to $6 millionn annually in the regiojn and create up to 250 jobs.
“North Carolina continues to be a prims location for growing and expanding globaltechnology companies,” Perdue said in a writtehn statement. “We welcome Apple to North Carolina and look forwarde to working with the company as it begins providing a significan t economic boost to local communities and the The North Carolina Department of Commerc projects that a data centerd investmentof $1 billion would create more than 3,000 jobs in the regionak economy, including hundreds of jobs related to constructiob and others created as a result of economix growth.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Schneider Electric lands multimillion-dollar deal - Triangle Business Journal:
ethelbertdiya3334.blogspot.com
Specific financial terms of the deal werenot released, but Jeannd Schweder, an outsourced spokeswoman, said the contract coule be worth in excess of $50 million. The five-year agreement was awardex to Schneider Electric's Industrial Applications Team, whicyh will supply Square D brand resistance welding controls to all General MotorsNorth American-manufacturing facilities. Weldinyg control parts are used in the robots thatassembld automobiles. The welding control parts to be supplied unde this agreement include resistance weld power distribution panels and monitoredpowed systems. Schneider Electric employs almost 400 people in including 92 in its IndustrialApplicationx Team.
The Palatine, Ill.-based Northu American Operating Division of Schneider Electricd is one of four geographic divisionsof Paris-baseed Schneider Electric. The divisions, which had sales of $2.7 billiom in 2002, markets the Square D, Telemecanique and Merlinh Gerin brand products to customers in the United Canadaand Mexico.
Specific financial terms of the deal werenot released, but Jeannd Schweder, an outsourced spokeswoman, said the contract coule be worth in excess of $50 million. The five-year agreement was awardex to Schneider Electric's Industrial Applications Team, whicyh will supply Square D brand resistance welding controls to all General MotorsNorth American-manufacturing facilities. Weldinyg control parts are used in the robots thatassembld automobiles. The welding control parts to be supplied unde this agreement include resistance weld power distribution panels and monitoredpowed systems. Schneider Electric employs almost 400 people in including 92 in its IndustrialApplicationx Team.
The Palatine, Ill.-based Northu American Operating Division of Schneider Electricd is one of four geographic divisionsof Paris-baseed Schneider Electric. The divisions, which had sales of $2.7 billiom in 2002, markets the Square D, Telemecanique and Merlinh Gerin brand products to customers in the United Canadaand Mexico.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Wyoming Seminary teacher on leave for unspecified incident - Citizens Voice
ucenyt.wordpress.com
Wyoming Seminary teacher on leave for unspecified incident Citizens Voice A Wyoming Seminary teacher has been put on administrative leave while police investigate an unspecified incident that allegedly took place on campus. Music teacher Robert Lugiano has not been arrested and no charges have been filed. ... |
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Valuable sculpture stolen from London park - Ninemsn
zyluzugizovota.blogspot.com
Telegraph.co.uk | Valuable sculpture stolen from London park Ninemsn Thieves have stolen a large bronze sculpture by one of Britain's most important modern sculptors from a London park. The sculpture by Barbara Hepworth, c » |
Monday, December 19, 2011
Federated sells Lord & Taylor for less than expected - Washington Business Journal:
a-ee85aqa.blogspot.com
Federated signed an agreement June 22 to sell theNew York-basecd division to NRDC of N.Y., for $1.195 billion in cash, but said Tuesday that the final sale price was adjusted to $1.083 billion, or about $840 million after tax. The lowered sale according toa release, is due primarilt to the fact that Federated agreesd to sublease certain properties to NRDC due to restrictions in the leases underlying thosd properties. The rental income on these propertiews is expected to beabout $8.6 million per year. Federated acquired Lord & Taylor when it closed its purchasedof St. Louis-based May Departmenr Store. Aug. 30, 2005.
Upscale fashionn retailer Lord & Taylor, foundex in 1826, has stores in Montgomery County andNorthern Virginia. The Lord Taylor division includes 48 storesin D.C., Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Connecticut, Michigan and Pennsylvania, as well as a distributiojn center in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Cincinnati-based Federateds Department Stores (NYSE: FD) operates nearly 950 department storews and more than 700 bridal and formalwear storess in49 states, the Distric, Guam and Puerti Rico.
Federated signed an agreement June 22 to sell theNew York-basecd division to NRDC of N.Y., for $1.195 billion in cash, but said Tuesday that the final sale price was adjusted to $1.083 billion, or about $840 million after tax. The lowered sale according toa release, is due primarilt to the fact that Federated agreesd to sublease certain properties to NRDC due to restrictions in the leases underlying thosd properties. The rental income on these propertiews is expected to beabout $8.6 million per year. Federated acquired Lord & Taylor when it closed its purchasedof St. Louis-based May Departmenr Store. Aug. 30, 2005.
Upscale fashionn retailer Lord & Taylor, foundex in 1826, has stores in Montgomery County andNorthern Virginia. The Lord Taylor division includes 48 storesin D.C., Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Connecticut, Michigan and Pennsylvania, as well as a distributiojn center in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Cincinnati-based Federateds Department Stores (NYSE: FD) operates nearly 950 department storews and more than 700 bridal and formalwear storess in49 states, the Distric, Guam and Puerti Rico.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Commercial developers play waiting game - Business First of Buffalo:
ejyceh.wordpress.com
Rumsey, a veteran commerciao real estate brokerwith , easil pinpoints the reason why he is less The answer? The recession. “The big buyerz are few and far between,” Rumsey said. “Right now, peopls are very reluctant to make any kind of Even in the bestof times, the Buffalo area is not pronee to large commercial deals, especially when it comes to One of the biggest took place almost one year ago when the the region’s third-largest law firm – agreed to move from Cathedrapl Place to the soon-to-opemn Avant building in downtown Buffalo.
Damonh & Morey is leasing more than 50,000-square-feet in the Avant, anchoring the Class A officr component ofthe 15-story building. Last fall, the federal Real Estate to take over twofloors – approximately 33,000-square-feet in downtown Buffalo’s Bank of Americs Building. Aside from those two there have been very few commercia l real estate or office transactions in the past Call it a sign ofthe “If a deal is viable, it will move ahead regardles of the economic conditions,” Rumseyh said.
With only a limitef number of large scale office dealspending – thosde seeking more than 25,000-square-feet – most in localo commercial real estate circles are focusing on lease packages that need smalleer amounts of square The number of small deals is reflective in the number of speculative office buildings that are under construction. The short answer while some multi-tenant Clas A buildings are under construction mostnotably ’s 80,000-square-foot building along North Forestf Road in Amherst – the economic development pipelinre is virtually empty of new office projects. That is creatingb an interesting scenario.
On one few developers are willing to take the financiao risk of building a spec structure in a slow Even if they were willing to take that leap of traditional financing may notbe available. On the othert hand, if a large scale officw user wereto emerge, they migh t have trouble finding suitable Class A office space in either downtowh Buffalo or the first ring Call it the commercial real estate conundrum. “Id someone is out there and needs 18,000-square-feet or 20,000-square-feetg and they need it immediately, they are not going to want to wait two or threes years to have the building saidJames Carminati, president.
A recent office markert survey, completed by the Buffalo office, foundx that downtown Buffalo has justa 6.28 percengt vacancy rate out of inventory that’s nearlgy 4 million square feet. In the Amherst-Town of Tonawandza corridor, there is a 12.47 perceng Class A office vacancyrate – one of its highesty in years. The Northtowns Class A officre vacancy rate hasrisen 3.1 percent in the past year. So what is a developeer supposedto do? “You retain what you said Michael Montante, vice president.
“Art the same time, it would foolish not to think thatthere won’t be some delinquencies and Robert McDonnell, vice president, said his company is lookinyg at growth from within – sort of Economic Developmentf 101.
Rumsey, a veteran commerciao real estate brokerwith , easil pinpoints the reason why he is less The answer? The recession. “The big buyerz are few and far between,” Rumsey said. “Right now, peopls are very reluctant to make any kind of Even in the bestof times, the Buffalo area is not pronee to large commercial deals, especially when it comes to One of the biggest took place almost one year ago when the the region’s third-largest law firm – agreed to move from Cathedrapl Place to the soon-to-opemn Avant building in downtown Buffalo.
Damonh & Morey is leasing more than 50,000-square-feet in the Avant, anchoring the Class A officr component ofthe 15-story building. Last fall, the federal Real Estate to take over twofloors – approximately 33,000-square-feet in downtown Buffalo’s Bank of Americs Building. Aside from those two there have been very few commercia l real estate or office transactions in the past Call it a sign ofthe “If a deal is viable, it will move ahead regardles of the economic conditions,” Rumseyh said.
With only a limitef number of large scale office dealspending – thosde seeking more than 25,000-square-feet – most in localo commercial real estate circles are focusing on lease packages that need smalleer amounts of square The number of small deals is reflective in the number of speculative office buildings that are under construction. The short answer while some multi-tenant Clas A buildings are under construction mostnotably ’s 80,000-square-foot building along North Forestf Road in Amherst – the economic development pipelinre is virtually empty of new office projects. That is creatingb an interesting scenario.
On one few developers are willing to take the financiao risk of building a spec structure in a slow Even if they were willing to take that leap of traditional financing may notbe available. On the othert hand, if a large scale officw user wereto emerge, they migh t have trouble finding suitable Class A office space in either downtowh Buffalo or the first ring Call it the commercial real estate conundrum. “Id someone is out there and needs 18,000-square-feet or 20,000-square-feetg and they need it immediately, they are not going to want to wait two or threes years to have the building saidJames Carminati, president.
A recent office markert survey, completed by the Buffalo office, foundx that downtown Buffalo has justa 6.28 percengt vacancy rate out of inventory that’s nearlgy 4 million square feet. In the Amherst-Town of Tonawandza corridor, there is a 12.47 perceng Class A office vacancyrate – one of its highesty in years. The Northtowns Class A officre vacancy rate hasrisen 3.1 percent in the past year. So what is a developeer supposedto do? “You retain what you said Michael Montante, vice president.
“Art the same time, it would foolish not to think thatthere won’t be some delinquencies and Robert McDonnell, vice president, said his company is lookinyg at growth from within – sort of Economic Developmentf 101.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Hawaiian Telcom opposes buyout offer - Washington Business Journal:
ekaterinaiuvo.blogspot.com
Sandwich Isles filed a motionh earlier this month to submit a competing Chapte r 11 reorganization plan forHawaiian Telcom. In it, the Honolulu-basede company offered to buy Hawaiian Telcom’s assets using $250 milliom in cash and $150 million in debt that wouls be issued byHawaiian Telcom. Untipl June 30, Hawaiian Telcom has so-called “exclusivity” in filingt a reorganization plan. The company wantw to extend that exclusivity to 30 as it gets votes on a proposed plan it filerdJune 3. Sandwich Isles has filesd an objection tothat extension, and Hawaiianb Telcom’s latest filing defends the request.
“Asking the courgt for help in promotinga low-ball offef for Hawaiian Telcom’s businesses is not a recipe for success in bankruptcg proceedings,” Hawaiian Telcom said in the filing. Sandwichh Isles, a company founded in 1995 to take advantage of governmentf subsidies that pay for the installatioh of broadband cable inrural areas, had said in its motiob that Hawaiian Telcom refused to consided its offer. But, Hawaiian Telcom says it analyzed and rejected the offerin May, for eight reasons listef in the filing.
It cited Sandwich lack of committed lack of federal and state licenses to operate in urban and lack of experience and ability to operatea full-servicde communications company. Hawaiian Telcom said it standzs behind its proposed reorganization plan to reducethe company’zs debt by nearly $790 from $1.1 billion to $300 million. Sandwich motion also claims Hawaiian Telcom has notmade good-faith progress in its bankruptcyy case since filing for Chapter 11 protection in In defending that claim, Hawaiiahn Telcom’s chief operating officer Kevimn Nystrom said the company has contacted “dozens of strategic and financiao purchasers.
” The company said it pursued a potential buyer, whom it did not but that after two months of talkzs no offer was made. Nystrom said Hawaiiab Telcom also askedits “equity -- its majority owner, of D.C. -- about a standalone reorganizatiobn and also discussed standalone restructuring optionsw with its bondholders andsecured lenders.
Sandwich Isles filed a motionh earlier this month to submit a competing Chapte r 11 reorganization plan forHawaiian Telcom. In it, the Honolulu-basede company offered to buy Hawaiian Telcom’s assets using $250 milliom in cash and $150 million in debt that wouls be issued byHawaiian Telcom. Untipl June 30, Hawaiian Telcom has so-called “exclusivity” in filingt a reorganization plan. The company wantw to extend that exclusivity to 30 as it gets votes on a proposed plan it filerdJune 3. Sandwich Isles has filesd an objection tothat extension, and Hawaiianb Telcom’s latest filing defends the request.
“Asking the courgt for help in promotinga low-ball offef for Hawaiian Telcom’s businesses is not a recipe for success in bankruptcg proceedings,” Hawaiian Telcom said in the filing. Sandwichh Isles, a company founded in 1995 to take advantage of governmentf subsidies that pay for the installatioh of broadband cable inrural areas, had said in its motiob that Hawaiian Telcom refused to consided its offer. But, Hawaiian Telcom says it analyzed and rejected the offerin May, for eight reasons listef in the filing.
It cited Sandwich lack of committed lack of federal and state licenses to operate in urban and lack of experience and ability to operatea full-servicde communications company. Hawaiian Telcom said it standzs behind its proposed reorganization plan to reducethe company’zs debt by nearly $790 from $1.1 billion to $300 million. Sandwich motion also claims Hawaiian Telcom has notmade good-faith progress in its bankruptcyy case since filing for Chapter 11 protection in In defending that claim, Hawaiiahn Telcom’s chief operating officer Kevimn Nystrom said the company has contacted “dozens of strategic and financiao purchasers.
” The company said it pursued a potential buyer, whom it did not but that after two months of talkzs no offer was made. Nystrom said Hawaiiab Telcom also askedits “equity -- its majority owner, of D.C. -- about a standalone reorganizatiobn and also discussed standalone restructuring optionsw with its bondholders andsecured lenders.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Putin's youth movement provides a sinister backdrop to Russia's protests - The Guardian
azajir.wordpress.com
The Guardian | Putin's youth movement provides a sinister backdrop to Russia's protests The Guardian More sinister was the list of potential opposition targets , including young activist, Ilya Yashin, who was this week sentenced to 15 days in prison for his role in the protests. Members also showed us a video of the harassment campaign against ... Russian spring: Putin's time may be up 'Putin's lot are thieves - we are the real power' Miffed Russians weary of Putin's 'business as usual' |
Saturday, December 10, 2011
DirecTV CEO leaving as Liberty merger nears - Dayton Business Journal:
inofiquxi.wordpress.com
just as the satellite broadcastetr readies to merge with an offshoot ofJohn Malone’s News and DirecTV confirmed Wednesday that Care will leave the El Calif.-based satellite broadcaster July 1 to become second-in-commanxd — handling international operations — for Rupert Murdoch’s global mediza empire. Carey’s defection may muddy reception of the planned merger between DirecTV andLibert Entertainment, a division of Douglasw County-based Liberty Media. Careyt ran DirecTV for the pastsix years, leading it through a period of growth and winning partnershipas with every major telecom companyh in the U.S.
He was expected to stay with DirecTcV after it became independent of Liberty Media. Instead, he returns to working for Murdoch and News where he worked for 15 years prior toheadiny DirecTV. Liberty Entertainment (NASDAQ: LMDIA) holdxs a 54 percent stake in (NASDAQ: DTV) as well as controllinhg stakes in online gaming companhyFun Technologies, the Game Show Network and regional sportx TV networks in Denver, Pittsburgyh and Seattle. Those holdings are being spun off this year intoa free-standingt company to clear up DirecTV’sw stock structure and make it easie r for it to engage in mergers and the companies said. Malone’s company traded its 16 perceng ownership stake inNews Corp.
back to Murdoch’s companty in 2007 in exchange for the controlling stakrin DirecTV.
just as the satellite broadcastetr readies to merge with an offshoot ofJohn Malone’s News and DirecTV confirmed Wednesday that Care will leave the El Calif.-based satellite broadcaster July 1 to become second-in-commanxd — handling international operations — for Rupert Murdoch’s global mediza empire. Carey’s defection may muddy reception of the planned merger between DirecTV andLibert Entertainment, a division of Douglasw County-based Liberty Media. Careyt ran DirecTV for the pastsix years, leading it through a period of growth and winning partnershipas with every major telecom companyh in the U.S.
He was expected to stay with DirecTcV after it became independent of Liberty Media. Instead, he returns to working for Murdoch and News where he worked for 15 years prior toheadiny DirecTV. Liberty Entertainment (NASDAQ: LMDIA) holdxs a 54 percent stake in (NASDAQ: DTV) as well as controllinhg stakes in online gaming companhyFun Technologies, the Game Show Network and regional sportx TV networks in Denver, Pittsburgyh and Seattle. Those holdings are being spun off this year intoa free-standingt company to clear up DirecTV’sw stock structure and make it easie r for it to engage in mergers and the companies said. Malone’s company traded its 16 perceng ownership stake inNews Corp.
back to Murdoch’s companty in 2007 in exchange for the controlling stakrin DirecTV.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Lincoln National reveals financial plans - Tampa Bay Business Journal:
ejoxot.wordpress.com
Shares closed 11 percent lower Mondayat $15.83, on a day the markete lost more than 2 percent. Lincolb National said it will targetabout $950 millionj in preferred stock from TARP’s Capital Purchasd Program. It will also try and raise $600 millionn through a common stock offeringvand $500 million in senior debt. The underwritera of the offering will havea 30-dayu option to buy up to an additional 15 percentr of the offered amount of common shares from the Lincoln National said it intendsx to contribute about $1 billion of the proceeds to its principal insurance , with the remaining $1 billionh held at the holding company for generaol corporate purposes, including the repayment of short-term debt and investment in the company’s core businesses.
In a separats release Monday announcinganother cost-cutting maneuver, Lincoln National said that it agreed to sell its Britisu subsidiary, Lincoln National (UK) plc, to SLF of Canada UK Ltd. for an estimated 195 Britishh pounds. Lincoln said the transaction, expected to clos on or around Sept. 30, should generatw estimated proceeds ofbetween $280 milliobn and $300 million, which will be used for core U.S. SLF is owned by Toronto-based Sun Life where former Lincoln CEO Jon Boscia isnow president.
Lincoln National said these actions supplementdividend reductions, cost and other actions previously taken to strengthen its capital and and solidify the company’s capital positions at both the subsidiarh and holding company The Philadelphia-based company believes that TARP participationn provides additional capital flexibility. The company expects to repay thisfinancingt “as soon as taking into consideration appropriate balance sheetg strength and capital markets conditions.” The final level of Lincoln’x participation is expected to be announcedd by the end of June. Last Lincoln National received preliminary approval for upto $2.5 billion undet the program.
It said the exact level of its participationm will be determined by the end ofthis month. Lincoln is one of six insuranc e companies to receivesuch approval. The $700 billiom Troubled Asset Relief Program, approved by Congress last was originally intended to buy toxi loans that were inhibiting banks from makingtadditional loans. But it was also used to make loanas to GeneralMotors Corp., Chryslerf and insurance giant Lincoln National was one of severa insurers that applied to become thrift holding companieas last fall so they could be considerex for TARP funds.
The insurersa had concerns about the rising numbefr of bad assets on their Lincoln National and other insurers saw theid stock prices drop in receng months as they waited forgovernment approval. As for the stock and Merrill Lynch & Co. will servw as global coordinators and GoldmanSachs Co. and Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. will served as joint book-running managers. In explaining its decision in aregulatoryh filing, Lincoln National said that although the capital and crediyt markets have shown recent improvements, those marketas have experienced extreme volatility and disruption for more than a “Given these conditions, our capital strategy is to have sufficieny capital to offer downside protectionn in the event that the capital and credit markets experience another downturn as well as to support growth in our operating businesses,” the companyg said.
Lincoln National said it believes thatthe $2 billioj infusion will provide it with sufficient capital to offset a “stress scenario” analysiss for 2009 and 2010. That scenario woulf include credit losses and impairmentw amounting toapproximately $1.65 billion, or 2.5 percent basedf on invested assets as of Marcj 31. Lincoln (NYSE:LNC), whicbh markets itself as , offers both insurancr and investmentmanagement products.
Shares closed 11 percent lower Mondayat $15.83, on a day the markete lost more than 2 percent. Lincolb National said it will targetabout $950 millionj in preferred stock from TARP’s Capital Purchasd Program. It will also try and raise $600 millionn through a common stock offeringvand $500 million in senior debt. The underwritera of the offering will havea 30-dayu option to buy up to an additional 15 percentr of the offered amount of common shares from the Lincoln National said it intendsx to contribute about $1 billion of the proceeds to its principal insurance , with the remaining $1 billionh held at the holding company for generaol corporate purposes, including the repayment of short-term debt and investment in the company’s core businesses.
In a separats release Monday announcinganother cost-cutting maneuver, Lincoln National said that it agreed to sell its Britisu subsidiary, Lincoln National (UK) plc, to SLF of Canada UK Ltd. for an estimated 195 Britishh pounds. Lincoln said the transaction, expected to clos on or around Sept. 30, should generatw estimated proceeds ofbetween $280 milliobn and $300 million, which will be used for core U.S. SLF is owned by Toronto-based Sun Life where former Lincoln CEO Jon Boscia isnow president.
Lincoln National said these actions supplementdividend reductions, cost and other actions previously taken to strengthen its capital and and solidify the company’s capital positions at both the subsidiarh and holding company The Philadelphia-based company believes that TARP participationn provides additional capital flexibility. The company expects to repay thisfinancingt “as soon as taking into consideration appropriate balance sheetg strength and capital markets conditions.” The final level of Lincoln’x participation is expected to be announcedd by the end of June. Last Lincoln National received preliminary approval for upto $2.5 billion undet the program.
It said the exact level of its participationm will be determined by the end ofthis month. Lincoln is one of six insuranc e companies to receivesuch approval. The $700 billiom Troubled Asset Relief Program, approved by Congress last was originally intended to buy toxi loans that were inhibiting banks from makingtadditional loans. But it was also used to make loanas to GeneralMotors Corp., Chryslerf and insurance giant Lincoln National was one of severa insurers that applied to become thrift holding companieas last fall so they could be considerex for TARP funds.
The insurersa had concerns about the rising numbefr of bad assets on their Lincoln National and other insurers saw theid stock prices drop in receng months as they waited forgovernment approval. As for the stock and Merrill Lynch & Co. will servw as global coordinators and GoldmanSachs Co. and Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. will served as joint book-running managers. In explaining its decision in aregulatoryh filing, Lincoln National said that although the capital and crediyt markets have shown recent improvements, those marketas have experienced extreme volatility and disruption for more than a “Given these conditions, our capital strategy is to have sufficieny capital to offer downside protectionn in the event that the capital and credit markets experience another downturn as well as to support growth in our operating businesses,” the companyg said.
Lincoln National said it believes thatthe $2 billioj infusion will provide it with sufficient capital to offset a “stress scenario” analysiss for 2009 and 2010. That scenario woulf include credit losses and impairmentw amounting toapproximately $1.65 billion, or 2.5 percent basedf on invested assets as of Marcj 31. Lincoln (NYSE:LNC), whicbh markets itself as , offers both insurancr and investmentmanagement products.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Port to sell land to Keystone Coal - South Florida Business Journal:
tenamup.wordpress.com
owner Tom Scholl will pay $6.6 milliohn for the property and pay hisown attorney’zs legal fees of $6.6 million, whicyh the authority was ordered to pay. Under the arrangement, Scholl won’tg pursue legal action against the authority for alleges business lost when the 70 acres at the northern terminalp of Talleyrand Avenue were under threat ofeminent domain. Jacksonville Port Authority Executive Director Rick Ferrin said a bulk materials terminal could have been builtg on the38 acres, but the authorit decided to sell due to its need for capita and desire to focus on building Ltd’s terminal at Dames Point.
He added that the economidc impact of the 38 acres would be greater if it was combinesd with the other 68 Keystone Coal plans to builda $20 million coal terminal on part of its 78-acrew parcel. The authority bought the 38 acres forabouyt $5.7 million from Jax LLC. Following the $61 million verdicgt for the 70 acres of land andthe authority’d balking on the price, Judge Richard Watsonj ordered the authority to pay $10. million to lawyers who defended Keystone’s lead counsel Andrew Brighaj said he reduced the attorneyu fees by 40 percentfrom $10.
5 million to bettee help Keystone and the authority reach a
owner Tom Scholl will pay $6.6 milliohn for the property and pay hisown attorney’zs legal fees of $6.6 million, whicyh the authority was ordered to pay. Under the arrangement, Scholl won’tg pursue legal action against the authority for alleges business lost when the 70 acres at the northern terminalp of Talleyrand Avenue were under threat ofeminent domain. Jacksonville Port Authority Executive Director Rick Ferrin said a bulk materials terminal could have been builtg on the38 acres, but the authorit decided to sell due to its need for capita and desire to focus on building Ltd’s terminal at Dames Point.
He added that the economidc impact of the 38 acres would be greater if it was combinesd with the other 68 Keystone Coal plans to builda $20 million coal terminal on part of its 78-acrew parcel. The authority bought the 38 acres forabouyt $5.7 million from Jax LLC. Following the $61 million verdicgt for the 70 acres of land andthe authority’d balking on the price, Judge Richard Watsonj ordered the authority to pay $10. million to lawyers who defended Keystone’s lead counsel Andrew Brighaj said he reduced the attorneyu fees by 40 percentfrom $10.
5 million to bettee help Keystone and the authority reach a
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Taiko Sushi in Massapequa: First bites - Newsday
ysynut.wordpress.com
Newsday | Taiko Sushi in Massapequa: First bites Newsday Click here Taiko Sushi in Massapequa: First bites Thursday December 1, 2011 12:52 PM By Joan Reminick In Massapequa, new restaurant seekers craving a Japanese food fix have a new source: Taiko Sushi, which debuted in the former home of CJ's Family ... |
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Human Genome Sciences Invites Investors To Listen To Webcast Of Presentation ... - TheStreet.com (press release)
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Human Genome Sciences Invites Investors To Listen To Webcast Of Presentation ... TheStreet.com (press release) By Business Wire 12/01/11 - 04:00 PM EST Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) announced today that its presentation at the 2011 Deutsche Bank BioFEST Conference will be webcast and may be accessed at www.hgsi.com. A member of Human Genome ... Stock Investors Sell Off Shares of Human Genome Sciences, Down 2.5% Research and Markets: Human Genome Sciences Inc. Company Profile and SWOT ... Human Genome Sciences Invites Investors to Listen to Webcast of Presentation ... |
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Commtouch opens D.C. detection center - Washington Business Journal:
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expanding its cloud infrastructure to grant customers accessto real-time threat prevention patterns with a small localk footprint. It is the fifth detection center worldwide forthe Netanya, Israel-based messaging and Web securitty technology provider (NASDAQ:CTCH), which has a subsidiarh in Sunnyvale, Calif. Commtouch’s technologies currently process more than two billion Interneft transactions every week withinthe company’s globally distributed detection centers to find new messaging and Web threat outbreaks as they are initiated. Commtouch has two otherr U.S. facilities, one in Hong Kong and another inthe U.K.
“Ae Web and e-mail traffic and threatsd continue toincrease rapidly, this new center will allow us to more efficiently and effectively serve our growint customer base,” said Yossi Maslaton, Commtouch’ss vice president of network operations and customer services. “We will be bettef equipped to handle the growinhg volumes of queriesand real-time information analysis in the and our East Coast customers will benefi t from higher quality of service with less
expanding its cloud infrastructure to grant customers accessto real-time threat prevention patterns with a small localk footprint. It is the fifth detection center worldwide forthe Netanya, Israel-based messaging and Web securitty technology provider (NASDAQ:CTCH), which has a subsidiarh in Sunnyvale, Calif. Commtouch’s technologies currently process more than two billion Interneft transactions every week withinthe company’s globally distributed detection centers to find new messaging and Web threat outbreaks as they are initiated. Commtouch has two otherr U.S. facilities, one in Hong Kong and another inthe U.K.
“Ae Web and e-mail traffic and threatsd continue toincrease rapidly, this new center will allow us to more efficiently and effectively serve our growint customer base,” said Yossi Maslaton, Commtouch’ss vice president of network operations and customer services. “We will be bettef equipped to handle the growinhg volumes of queriesand real-time information analysis in the and our East Coast customers will benefi t from higher quality of service with less
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Bennet cites Colorado examples in Senate plea for health-care reform - Dallas Business Journal:
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Coloradans, he said, "speak for countles s others acrossthe nation. All they ask for is a health care system that worksfor them, a health care systejm that doesn’t crush them with unreasonablr cost increases, and a health care system that doesn’t deny them coveragew just because they have pre-existing conditions." Bennet, D- Colo., also touted his own proposalsd to make patient transition care more cost-effective and successful. "Inm Colorado, we haven’t waitef on Washington," he "We’ve made real progress in showin g how to provide high quality health care at aloweer cost.
" Bennet, formerly superintendent of the Denver Publifc Schools, was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Bill Ritte r to fill the seat vacated by Ken Salazard when Salazar was picked by Presidenyt Barack Obama as secretarh ofthe Interior. Here is the full text of Bennet'e Senate-floor speech as prepared for delivery Thursday, provide by his In the speech, he is addressing the president ofthe Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the urgenty need for healthcare reform. The peopl of Colorado, and the American people, have waitefd for too long for Washingtonto act. We shoulcd begin with a basic principle: if you have coverage and you like it, you can keep it.
If you have your and you like himor her, you should be able to keep them as We will not take that choic away from you. But even as we keep what we must confront the challenges of soaring healtuh care costs and the lack of acceswsto affordable, quality healtyh care. The status quo is unacceptable. Every day, familied in Colorado and across America face rising Their plans offer fewer They are denied coverage becauseof pre-existing conditions. And untip we fix the health care system, we won’f be able to fix the fiscalk mess in which wefind ourselves.
Since 1970, the share of healthcard as a part of the GDP has gone from 7 percent to 17 The United States spendswover $2 trillion in health care including over $400 billionj on Medicare alone. President Obamw has said that the biggesg threat toour nation’s balance sheer is the skyrocketing cost of health care. And he’ds right. In Colorado, we haven’f waited on Washington. We’ve made real progress in showiny how to provide high qualit y health care at a lower Last week, the New Yorker magazine publishee an article entitled “The Cost that highlights the important work that’s been done in Mesa Colorado.
Over thirty years ago this communitytserving 120,000 people came together—doctors, nurses, and the non-profit health insurance They agreed upon a system that paid doctors and nursez for seeing patients and producing better qualituy care. They realized that problemw and costs go down when care is more InMesa County, the city of Gransd Junction implemented an integrated health care system that provides follow-upo care with patients. This follow-up care has helped lowet hospital readmissions rates in Grand Junction to just 3 Compare that to the 20 percentrate nationwide, and it is cleatr that our community on the Western Slopes of Colorado is onto something groundbreaking.
High readmission rates are a huge problej forour seniors. Nearly one in five Medicare patients who leave a hospital are readmitted within thefollowingv month, and more than three-quarters of theswe readmissions are preventable. Rehospitalization costxs Medicareover $17 billiobn a year. It’s painfuk for patients and families to be caught up in these cycles of Alltoo often, care is fragmented – you go from the to the hospital, to a nursing home, back to the hospitalo and then back to the doctor Patients are given medication instructionsa as they are leaving the hospital, many timeds after coming off of strong They don’t know whom to call, and they are not sure what to ask theirr primary care doctor.
The both our Denver and Mesa County healtj communitieshave found, is to provid patients leaving the hospital with a “coach.” This coacnh is a trained health professionapl connecting home and the hospital. This coach teaches patientd how to manage their health ontheid own.
Coloradans, he said, "speak for countles s others acrossthe nation. All they ask for is a health care system that worksfor them, a health care systejm that doesn’t crush them with unreasonablr cost increases, and a health care system that doesn’t deny them coveragew just because they have pre-existing conditions." Bennet, D- Colo., also touted his own proposalsd to make patient transition care more cost-effective and successful. "Inm Colorado, we haven’t waitef on Washington," he "We’ve made real progress in showin g how to provide high quality health care at aloweer cost.
" Bennet, formerly superintendent of the Denver Publifc Schools, was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Bill Ritte r to fill the seat vacated by Ken Salazard when Salazar was picked by Presidenyt Barack Obama as secretarh ofthe Interior. Here is the full text of Bennet'e Senate-floor speech as prepared for delivery Thursday, provide by his In the speech, he is addressing the president ofthe Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the urgenty need for healthcare reform. The peopl of Colorado, and the American people, have waitefd for too long for Washingtonto act. We shoulcd begin with a basic principle: if you have coverage and you like it, you can keep it.
If you have your and you like himor her, you should be able to keep them as We will not take that choic away from you. But even as we keep what we must confront the challenges of soaring healtuh care costs and the lack of acceswsto affordable, quality healtyh care. The status quo is unacceptable. Every day, familied in Colorado and across America face rising Their plans offer fewer They are denied coverage becauseof pre-existing conditions. And untip we fix the health care system, we won’f be able to fix the fiscalk mess in which wefind ourselves.
Since 1970, the share of healthcard as a part of the GDP has gone from 7 percent to 17 The United States spendswover $2 trillion in health care including over $400 billionj on Medicare alone. President Obamw has said that the biggesg threat toour nation’s balance sheer is the skyrocketing cost of health care. And he’ds right. In Colorado, we haven’f waited on Washington. We’ve made real progress in showiny how to provide high qualit y health care at a lower Last week, the New Yorker magazine publishee an article entitled “The Cost that highlights the important work that’s been done in Mesa Colorado.
Over thirty years ago this communitytserving 120,000 people came together—doctors, nurses, and the non-profit health insurance They agreed upon a system that paid doctors and nursez for seeing patients and producing better qualituy care. They realized that problemw and costs go down when care is more InMesa County, the city of Gransd Junction implemented an integrated health care system that provides follow-upo care with patients. This follow-up care has helped lowet hospital readmissions rates in Grand Junction to just 3 Compare that to the 20 percentrate nationwide, and it is cleatr that our community on the Western Slopes of Colorado is onto something groundbreaking.
High readmission rates are a huge problej forour seniors. Nearly one in five Medicare patients who leave a hospital are readmitted within thefollowingv month, and more than three-quarters of theswe readmissions are preventable. Rehospitalization costxs Medicareover $17 billiobn a year. It’s painfuk for patients and families to be caught up in these cycles of Alltoo often, care is fragmented – you go from the to the hospital, to a nursing home, back to the hospitalo and then back to the doctor Patients are given medication instructionsa as they are leaving the hospital, many timeds after coming off of strong They don’t know whom to call, and they are not sure what to ask theirr primary care doctor.
The both our Denver and Mesa County healtj communitieshave found, is to provid patients leaving the hospital with a “coach.” This coacnh is a trained health professionapl connecting home and the hospital. This coach teaches patientd how to manage their health ontheid own.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Business First of Columbus: Columbus Commercial Real Estate Listings - View Commercial Real Estate
http://www.guiasinterpretes.com/jslinkardb2.html
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Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Nickelback is living in the diversity of 'Here and Now' - USA Today
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USA Today | Nickelback is living in the diversity of 'Here and Now' USA Today "So it was important to us to release two different things, to say, 'This is how diverse the record really is.' " The dichotomy between the two singles could have been more striking. At one point, the album's lead track, This Means War, ... |
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Pepco Energy Services wins $55M contract from Baltimore schools - Baltimore Business Journal:
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Arlington, Va.-based Pepco Energyt Services has been supplyinb electricity to the school systenm since June ofthis year. The new 15-yeaer contract calls for Pepco Energuy Services toprovide high-efficiency lighting and water conservation replace heating and cooling systems, expand the energy-managementy control system and install new Construction is under way and slate for completion by November 2007, the company "The energy savings created by these improvementa will allow the to fund much neede upgrades in 32 said David Weiss, presidengt of Pepco Energy Services' performance management Pepco Energy Services is a subsidiary of D.C.
-basecd (NYSE: POM), which provides commercial, institutional, government and industrial customers with electricityu and natural gas, as well as energy efficiency
Arlington, Va.-based Pepco Energyt Services has been supplyinb electricity to the school systenm since June ofthis year. The new 15-yeaer contract calls for Pepco Energuy Services toprovide high-efficiency lighting and water conservation replace heating and cooling systems, expand the energy-managementy control system and install new Construction is under way and slate for completion by November 2007, the company "The energy savings created by these improvementa will allow the to fund much neede upgrades in 32 said David Weiss, presidengt of Pepco Energy Services' performance management Pepco Energy Services is a subsidiary of D.C.
-basecd (NYSE: POM), which provides commercial, institutional, government and industrial customers with electricityu and natural gas, as well as energy efficiency
Friday, November 18, 2011
Times' retirement plan hit by $154M loss - Boston Business Journal:
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Net assets of the plan for the which owns the Globe and fellto $417.7 million. The plan was particularlh hard hit bysome $171.5 million in lossesw within several mutual funds. For the plan’s largest holding, the Vanguard 500 Indecx Investment fund, suffered a nearly 40 percenr lossin value. Another fund in the Times’ portfolio, the Vanguard Asset Allocation Investment dropped nearly 32 percent Only one of its majorfund holdings, the Dodgr & Cox Income Fund, posted a positive returnh in 2008. Investments in fixed income and insurance assetsgeneratedx $5.3 million in income. Dividendc income of $11.6 million also helped offseft losses.
Interest income from the company’x borrowing from its retirement fundtotaled $594,000. The Times has traditionall matched a fraction ofGlobr employees’ contributions to their 401(k) accounts, howevef a proposal in fronf of leadership would eliminate the program.
Net assets of the plan for the which owns the Globe and fellto $417.7 million. The plan was particularlh hard hit bysome $171.5 million in lossesw within several mutual funds. For the plan’s largest holding, the Vanguard 500 Indecx Investment fund, suffered a nearly 40 percenr lossin value. Another fund in the Times’ portfolio, the Vanguard Asset Allocation Investment dropped nearly 32 percent Only one of its majorfund holdings, the Dodgr & Cox Income Fund, posted a positive returnh in 2008. Investments in fixed income and insurance assetsgeneratedx $5.3 million in income. Dividendc income of $11.6 million also helped offseft losses.
Interest income from the company’x borrowing from its retirement fundtotaled $594,000. The Times has traditionall matched a fraction ofGlobr employees’ contributions to their 401(k) accounts, howevef a proposal in fronf of leadership would eliminate the program.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Karzai seeks Loya Jirga's help in crafting US partnership - MiamiHerald.com
firukendu-anchored.blogspot.com
CBC.ca | Karzai seeks Loya Jirga's help in crafting US partnership MiamiHerald.com Karzai spoke at the beginning of a four-day National conference, where elders will discuss the contents of a proposed strategic partnership between the US and Afghanistan. "I need your view and I need your advice," Karzai said. ... Despite Taliban threats, Afghan elders conference loya jirga opens amid high ... Afghan elders' grand council considers US presence Afghan tribal council to debate strategic US pact |
Monday, November 14, 2011
SEC: N.Y. investment firm misled S. Fla. seniors - Portland Business Journal:
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"They used free lunches as the low-tecj bait for their high-scale scheme," said Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC' Division of Enforcement. The SEC alleges elderly and retirex investors were lured into purchasing highl unsuitable variable annuities with lucrative salee commissions while ignoring the financial goals of The SEC alleges thatEric J. Browhn of Highland Beach, Matthew J. Collins of Boyntom Beach, Kevin J. Walsh of and Mark W. Wells of Boca Raton, were among those offering and sellingthe annuities. It’zs alleged that the firm and its representativea earned millions of dollars insalee commissions.
PCS is a registered broker-dealer and wholly-owned subsidiary of Gilman an income tax preparation businessx headquartered in Poughkeepsie that offers financial services in New New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida. Robert Heim, a NewYorko attorney who representsPrime Capital, Gilman Ciocia, and several of the including Collins and Wells, said the conducft at issue in the complaint is "very and occurred in the late 1990s and earlh 2000. He said the company reached a settlement withthe (FINRA), when it was caller the (NASD).
As part of that the company implementedsome wide-ranging updates to its supervisor y and compliance systems in 2005, Heim He added that he didn't know why the SEC was goinh over the same ground. "All of these issues were addressef years ago and we feelthe company's responsew has been appropriate," he While Brown and Walsnh have since left, Collinsx and Wells are still with the company, he An administrative law judge will determine whether the allegationsa against the respondents are true and, if so, whetherr they should be ordered to ceasr and desist from future violations.
"They used free lunches as the low-tecj bait for their high-scale scheme," said Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC' Division of Enforcement. The SEC alleges elderly and retirex investors were lured into purchasing highl unsuitable variable annuities with lucrative salee commissions while ignoring the financial goals of The SEC alleges thatEric J. Browhn of Highland Beach, Matthew J. Collins of Boyntom Beach, Kevin J. Walsh of and Mark W. Wells of Boca Raton, were among those offering and sellingthe annuities. It’zs alleged that the firm and its representativea earned millions of dollars insalee commissions.
PCS is a registered broker-dealer and wholly-owned subsidiary of Gilman an income tax preparation businessx headquartered in Poughkeepsie that offers financial services in New New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida. Robert Heim, a NewYorko attorney who representsPrime Capital, Gilman Ciocia, and several of the including Collins and Wells, said the conducft at issue in the complaint is "very and occurred in the late 1990s and earlh 2000. He said the company reached a settlement withthe (FINRA), when it was caller the (NASD).
As part of that the company implementedsome wide-ranging updates to its supervisor y and compliance systems in 2005, Heim He added that he didn't know why the SEC was goinh over the same ground. "All of these issues were addressef years ago and we feelthe company's responsew has been appropriate," he While Brown and Walsnh have since left, Collinsx and Wells are still with the company, he An administrative law judge will determine whether the allegationsa against the respondents are true and, if so, whetherr they should be ordered to ceasr and desist from future violations.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
F.N.B. appoints Delie president - Pittsburgh Business Times:
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Delie succeeds Stephen Gurgovits Sr., who has held dual responsibilitiee as president and CEO of both the bank and corporatiom sinceFebruary 2009. It marked the third promotionh in less than a yearfor Delie, who joined (NYSE:FNB) in 2005 as presidenr and CEO of its Pittsburgh region. He had previouslhy been executive vice presidenrt and division manager for corporate bankin atNational City’s Pittsburgh region. It is the latesrt in a rapid slate of changesa that havereshaped F.N.B.’s executive Delie was promoted to executive vice president and chief revenue officerf two weeks ago. At that time, Brian Lilly was namedf executive vice presidentand COO.
Also, Gurgovits, who had been servinb as interim president and CEO of the corporation since February, was given the positionse on a permanent basis. He had plannedx to retire, and after a two-year Robert New was hired for the top postdat F.N.B., while Gurgovitse served as chairman. But when New resigned in Gurgovits returned tothe helm. Wednesday, announced that long-time directorr William Campbell was itsnew chairman, enabling Gurgovitzs to focus on his corporate responsibilities and to conforn to F.N.B.’s corporate Thursday, F.N.B. promoted Vincent J. Calabrese to CFO, fillinh Lilly’s previous post.
Gurgovits said in a statementtthat Delie’s new position “more strategicallt aligns his responsibilities as Chief Revenue Officer at the bank levepl and provides continuity for revenuer production. Vince has the experience, the vision and the energy to be a greaf leader forthe bank. I am confidengt that F.N.B. will grow and thrive undef his leadership.” It was a busy week for in other ways. Tuesday it complete d a public offering of more than 24 million share s and expected to realize net proceeds ofapproximateluy $125.8 million. Gurgovits said the money positions F.N.B.
to “takre advantage of growth opportunities, both organivc and through acquisitions, due to market and the “flexibility to consider” repurchasinf $100 million in preferred shares the government invested through the Capitao Purchase Program of the Troublex AssetRelief Program. Friday, shares rose 2.75 percent to reacj $6.36 per share by noon. F.N.B. is based in Hermitage, abou t 60 miles north of Pittsburgh.
Delie succeeds Stephen Gurgovits Sr., who has held dual responsibilitiee as president and CEO of both the bank and corporatiom sinceFebruary 2009. It marked the third promotionh in less than a yearfor Delie, who joined (NYSE:FNB) in 2005 as presidenr and CEO of its Pittsburgh region. He had previouslhy been executive vice presidenrt and division manager for corporate bankin atNational City’s Pittsburgh region. It is the latesrt in a rapid slate of changesa that havereshaped F.N.B.’s executive Delie was promoted to executive vice president and chief revenue officerf two weeks ago. At that time, Brian Lilly was namedf executive vice presidentand COO.
Also, Gurgovits, who had been servinb as interim president and CEO of the corporation since February, was given the positionse on a permanent basis. He had plannedx to retire, and after a two-year Robert New was hired for the top postdat F.N.B., while Gurgovitse served as chairman. But when New resigned in Gurgovits returned tothe helm. Wednesday, announced that long-time directorr William Campbell was itsnew chairman, enabling Gurgovitzs to focus on his corporate responsibilities and to conforn to F.N.B.’s corporate Thursday, F.N.B. promoted Vincent J. Calabrese to CFO, fillinh Lilly’s previous post.
Gurgovits said in a statementtthat Delie’s new position “more strategicallt aligns his responsibilities as Chief Revenue Officer at the bank levepl and provides continuity for revenuer production. Vince has the experience, the vision and the energy to be a greaf leader forthe bank. I am confidengt that F.N.B. will grow and thrive undef his leadership.” It was a busy week for in other ways. Tuesday it complete d a public offering of more than 24 million share s and expected to realize net proceeds ofapproximateluy $125.8 million. Gurgovits said the money positions F.N.B.
to “takre advantage of growth opportunities, both organivc and through acquisitions, due to market and the “flexibility to consider” repurchasinf $100 million in preferred shares the government invested through the Capitao Purchase Program of the Troublex AssetRelief Program. Friday, shares rose 2.75 percent to reacj $6.36 per share by noon. F.N.B. is based in Hermitage, abou t 60 miles north of Pittsburgh.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Fla., Orlando again tops in foreclosures - Denver Business Journal:
fabyqyku.blogspot.com
The state posted 58,931 foreclosure filings — includingf default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessionz — in May, down 8.8 percent from April’s but still 50 percent higheer thanMay 2008, according to RealtyTrac’s monthly Foreclosurd Market Report. Only California had a higher total, with 92,249 properties with May 2009 foreclosurde filings. The Sunshine State was No. 3 in the nation in foreclosurre rates, with one in every 148 households receivinf a foreclosure filingin May. Nevadaa led the country with one in every 64 homees receivinga filing, while California was seconsd highest with one in ever 144. The Orlando-Kissimmee market took the No.
8 spot amongv the nation’s top 10 metro areas with the highesyforeclosure rates. The area recorded a rate of one foreclosur e filing for every101 homes. Florida had threde cities among the top 10metro areas, whilse California had six cities among that mix. Las Vega topped the list with a rate of one in evergy 54 households getting aforeclosure Nationwide, 321,480 foreclosure filings were reported in May, whic is 6 percent lower than April but about 18 percent higher than May 2008. One in everyh 398 U.S. homes received a foreclosure noticrelast month. Vermont again recorded the lowest number of with six reportedin May, or one for every 51,906 households. The RealtyTraxc U.S.
Foreclosure Market Report provides the totapl number of properties with at leasyt one foreclosure filing reported duringthe month. Data is collectexd from more than 2,200 counties that account for more than 90 percen t ofthe nation’s population.
The state posted 58,931 foreclosure filings — includingf default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessionz — in May, down 8.8 percent from April’s but still 50 percent higheer thanMay 2008, according to RealtyTrac’s monthly Foreclosurd Market Report. Only California had a higher total, with 92,249 properties with May 2009 foreclosurde filings. The Sunshine State was No. 3 in the nation in foreclosurre rates, with one in every 148 households receivinf a foreclosure filingin May. Nevadaa led the country with one in every 64 homees receivinga filing, while California was seconsd highest with one in ever 144. The Orlando-Kissimmee market took the No.
8 spot amongv the nation’s top 10 metro areas with the highesyforeclosure rates. The area recorded a rate of one foreclosur e filing for every101 homes. Florida had threde cities among the top 10metro areas, whilse California had six cities among that mix. Las Vega topped the list with a rate of one in evergy 54 households getting aforeclosure Nationwide, 321,480 foreclosure filings were reported in May, whic is 6 percent lower than April but about 18 percent higher than May 2008. One in everyh 398 U.S. homes received a foreclosure noticrelast month. Vermont again recorded the lowest number of with six reportedin May, or one for every 51,906 households. The RealtyTraxc U.S.
Foreclosure Market Report provides the totapl number of properties with at leasyt one foreclosure filing reported duringthe month. Data is collectexd from more than 2,200 counties that account for more than 90 percen t ofthe nation’s population.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Ritz-Carlton Denver names new GM - Phoenix Business Journal:
fusajacuxejilyp.blogspot.com
Andrew Rogers comes to the 1881Curtis St. hoteo from the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua in Hawaii, where he oversaw the resort’sw $170 million re-launch. Before then, Rogers served as resory manager forthe Ritz-Carlton Club in St. U.S. Virgin Islands, and directod of golf operations forthe Ritz-Carlton in Rose Jamaica. Before beginning his employment for in Rogers workedin ’s golf division at threew separate resorts. He holds a bachelor of sciencee in marketing from Ferris State University and has a wife andtwo “My family and I are excited to be in a city as wonderfu as Denver and I look forward to becominyg part of the community,” Rogers said in a news release.
The Ritz-Carltonh Denver property includes 202 guest roomw spread over14 floors, a spa and Elway’e Downtown restaurant.
Andrew Rogers comes to the 1881Curtis St. hoteo from the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua in Hawaii, where he oversaw the resort’sw $170 million re-launch. Before then, Rogers served as resory manager forthe Ritz-Carlton Club in St. U.S. Virgin Islands, and directod of golf operations forthe Ritz-Carlton in Rose Jamaica. Before beginning his employment for in Rogers workedin ’s golf division at threew separate resorts. He holds a bachelor of sciencee in marketing from Ferris State University and has a wife andtwo “My family and I are excited to be in a city as wonderfu as Denver and I look forward to becominyg part of the community,” Rogers said in a news release.
The Ritz-Carltonh Denver property includes 202 guest roomw spread over14 floors, a spa and Elway’e Downtown restaurant.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
NHL commissioner: Coyotes move could damage Westgate, arena construction - Denver Business Journal:
ufysyho.wordpress.com
He also said it could have a chillin g impact on other cities considering helping teams buildfnew arenas. The Coyotes have 41 regular seasoj home gameseach year. Bettmam and the NHL opposew theproposed $213 million sale of the team to Canadia businessman Jim Balsillie, who would move it to Ontario, saying the league shoulcd make the decision. A June 9 hearing is set in U.S. Bankruptct Court to decide whether Coyotes owner Jerry Moyeas can sell to Balsillie or if it must be sold to a buyee who would keep the NHL franchisein Arizona. The Coyoteas are in Chapter 11bankruptcy reorganization.
Balsillie argued in court filings thathis $213 million will be the best deal and the court’a main charge is to get the most monegy to pay off debt and position the team to be financiallu viable going forward. The Coyotes have lost $316 millionh since moving to the Phoenix marketg from Winnipeg in according tocourt filings. Balsillie says NHL hockeyu is not financially viable in the Phoenixsport market, but the league points to four potentiakl bidders for the Coyotes that would keep the team in Jobing.Com Arena was built by the city of which says it will pursud a $500 million to $750 million claim if the Coyote s break their 30-year lease.
Balsillie’s courty filing contends the bankruptcy court has the leewat to discharge sucha claim. The Nationak Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Basebalo backthe NHL’s bid to keep the Coyotes in Arizonaq fearing the move could set a
He also said it could have a chillin g impact on other cities considering helping teams buildfnew arenas. The Coyotes have 41 regular seasoj home gameseach year. Bettmam and the NHL opposew theproposed $213 million sale of the team to Canadia businessman Jim Balsillie, who would move it to Ontario, saying the league shoulcd make the decision. A June 9 hearing is set in U.S. Bankruptct Court to decide whether Coyotes owner Jerry Moyeas can sell to Balsillie or if it must be sold to a buyee who would keep the NHL franchisein Arizona. The Coyoteas are in Chapter 11bankruptcy reorganization.
Balsillie argued in court filings thathis $213 million will be the best deal and the court’a main charge is to get the most monegy to pay off debt and position the team to be financiallu viable going forward. The Coyotes have lost $316 millionh since moving to the Phoenix marketg from Winnipeg in according tocourt filings. Balsillie says NHL hockeyu is not financially viable in the Phoenixsport market, but the league points to four potentiakl bidders for the Coyotes that would keep the team in Jobing.Com Arena was built by the city of which says it will pursud a $500 million to $750 million claim if the Coyote s break their 30-year lease.
Balsillie’s courty filing contends the bankruptcy court has the leewat to discharge sucha claim. The Nationak Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Basebalo backthe NHL’s bid to keep the Coyotes in Arizonaq fearing the move could set a
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Cain and supporters attach themselves to Clarence Thomas, to their benefit - Washington Post (blog)
yjanebixe.wordpress.com
Politico | Cain and supporters attach themselves to Clarence Thomas, to their benefit Washington Post (blog) So is it a good idea for Cain and his supporters to compare him to Clarence Thomas? In a word: yes. In a new video on the Daily C » |
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Streets filled with revellers as woman bashed to death on Halloween - Sydney Morning Herald
ermolayenayqaked.blogspot.com
Sydney Morning Herald | Streets filled with revellers as woman bashed to death on Halloween Sydney Morning Herald THE usually quiet suburban street was swarming with trick-or-treaters on Monday night as Lynette Bradbury lay bound and dead in her family home. The 56-year-old was found by her husband tied at the hands and feet between her bed and a war drobe in their ... |
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Hospitals want to reduce $6B bill for overhead costs - Portland Business Journal:
bafepexu.wordpress.com
Representatives from hospitals, medical groupx and health insurance plans have convenedf three working groups durinv the past three months to explore ideae and opportunitiesfor savings. Even modest streamlining woul d mean big savings for businessesand consumers. Health care is a $19 billion business in Oregon, meaninh that nearly $6 billion a year goes to overhear costs. Claims processing, provider credentialing and determining insurancr eligibility alone cost Orego n medicalpractices $42 million annually, based on data collected by the . The project is at a however, because it needs funding and long-term volunteer commitmentd from would-be members.
Between 10 and 15 peopl e have participatedso far. Work group participanty Bart McMullan, president of the Portland-baseed insurance company RegenceBlueCross BlueShield, said the companyh is committed to the effort. “Everyg time you have back and forthbetween hospitals, physicians and it chews up money,” McMullan said. “This is a reallyg important issue, because there are hiddem costs everywhere.” Savings will take time to McMullan added. The effort will cost roughly $100,00 a year and may go on for several said spokesmanAndrew Davidson, CEO of the Lake Oswego-based Health Systems.
It’s modeled on a project Davidson worked on in Washingtonh when he was with the hospitalassociation there. The program’z price tag would be covered bymember commitments. The tab couldx come at an unwelcome time, because many health care companies are struggliny withlower profits. On the other hand, players may be eagert to show regulators andconsumers they’re working to shrinmk administrative costs. If health care companiex don’t act, they could have their hand forced bythe .
The group’s homegrown healthb reform initiative, released this month, proposes several options for curbint Oregon’s skyrocketing health costs, including regulating the purchase of individual insurance and capping overhead for healthinsurances plans. “Hospitals, health plans and physicians are all experiencing marked declinesd in netoperating revenue, and as a result it’s ever more importanr to look for ways to drivd unnecessary cost out of the Davidson said. “The state of the economy today only adds Phone calls, claims resubmissionsd and haggling about treatment coverage are among the meniakl tasks that add up to high overhead in medicakl billing.
Administrative costs accountefd for 31 percentof U.S. healt expenditures overall in 1999, according to an articlse published in the in 2003by Dr. Steffie compared with 16.7 percent in Canada. Employee benefits brokeer Arnie Poutala said medical group s may have the mostto gain. “Providers have so many insurers to deal with and it drivezs uptheir costs,” said Poutala, employees benefits consultant at the Portland brokeragw firm USI Northwest.
“There’s huge potentialo for improvement in a step like standardizingclaims
Representatives from hospitals, medical groupx and health insurance plans have convenedf three working groups durinv the past three months to explore ideae and opportunitiesfor savings. Even modest streamlining woul d mean big savings for businessesand consumers. Health care is a $19 billion business in Oregon, meaninh that nearly $6 billion a year goes to overhear costs. Claims processing, provider credentialing and determining insurancr eligibility alone cost Orego n medicalpractices $42 million annually, based on data collected by the . The project is at a however, because it needs funding and long-term volunteer commitmentd from would-be members.
Between 10 and 15 peopl e have participatedso far. Work group participanty Bart McMullan, president of the Portland-baseed insurance company RegenceBlueCross BlueShield, said the companyh is committed to the effort. “Everyg time you have back and forthbetween hospitals, physicians and it chews up money,” McMullan said. “This is a reallyg important issue, because there are hiddem costs everywhere.” Savings will take time to McMullan added. The effort will cost roughly $100,00 a year and may go on for several said spokesmanAndrew Davidson, CEO of the Lake Oswego-based Health Systems.
It’s modeled on a project Davidson worked on in Washingtonh when he was with the hospitalassociation there. The program’z price tag would be covered bymember commitments. The tab couldx come at an unwelcome time, because many health care companies are struggliny withlower profits. On the other hand, players may be eagert to show regulators andconsumers they’re working to shrinmk administrative costs. If health care companiex don’t act, they could have their hand forced bythe .
The group’s homegrown healthb reform initiative, released this month, proposes several options for curbint Oregon’s skyrocketing health costs, including regulating the purchase of individual insurance and capping overhead for healthinsurances plans. “Hospitals, health plans and physicians are all experiencing marked declinesd in netoperating revenue, and as a result it’s ever more importanr to look for ways to drivd unnecessary cost out of the Davidson said. “The state of the economy today only adds Phone calls, claims resubmissionsd and haggling about treatment coverage are among the meniakl tasks that add up to high overhead in medicakl billing.
Administrative costs accountefd for 31 percentof U.S. healt expenditures overall in 1999, according to an articlse published in the in 2003by Dr. Steffie compared with 16.7 percent in Canada. Employee benefits brokeer Arnie Poutala said medical group s may have the mostto gain. “Providers have so many insurers to deal with and it drivezs uptheir costs,” said Poutala, employees benefits consultant at the Portland brokeragw firm USI Northwest.
“There’s huge potentialo for improvement in a step like standardizingclaims
Friday, October 28, 2011
At PV America, Rendell says alternative energy will boost economy - Philadelphia Business Journal:
iwegasely.wordpress.com
“I believe that over the next five years, the developmentt of the green-energy economy can drive this nation’x comeback,” the Democratic governor said at the generalp session ofPV America, which is beingg held at the Pennsylvania Conventio n Center in Philadelphia throug Wednesday. The conference is the first by the to focuz solely on photovoltaicsolar energy, which comesa from photovoltaic panels that convert sunligh t into electricity. It’s being held in conjunctionb withthe IEEE’s 34th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference at the Philadelphia Marriott which is adjacent to the conventio center, from Sunday through Friday.
(IEEE used to stansd for , but the nonprofit now just refers to itself by its acronym becaus e it has so many members from otheerengineering fields.) About 3,0000 people are attending the conferences, the SEIA and IEEE Part of Rendell’s messagew was similar to the message delivere by SEIA President and CEO Rhonee Resch later in the session: When they go home, the peoplde at the conference should promote solatr energy’s virtues to everyone from their neighbors to their municipal, statwe and federal elected officials. “Yo have to roll up your sleevess andbe advocates,” Rendell said.
Both Rendellp and Resch praised President Obama for his efforts on behalf of renewabldeenergy — “President Obama is becoming the solae president,” Resch said — but they said they’fd like the federal government to do Rendell said federal legislators should do two Make renewable-energy tax credits permanent, rather than reauthorizinv them every few years; and creatw a federal alternative portfoliko standard that mandates that a specifief portion of energy sold in the country be created from alternative energy sources. Twentu eight states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and the District of Columbiaq have alternativeportfolio standards.
Rendellp said he’d like the federal standard to have minimumj figures that states could exceed ontheir own. “Ifd we do those things … I thinki there’s no reason that America can’t be the dominanty nation in solar energy for the he said. Rendel said alternative energy will drivethe U.S. economy for the next 25 yearws just asthe information-technology and life sciences industries have driven it for the last 25. Underr his leadership, Pennsylvania has move d to capitalize onthat shift. In it established an alternative portfolilo standard that requires 18 percent of energu sold in Pennsylvania to come from alternativde sources of energyby 2020.
Last summer, Pennsylvania created a $650 milliob renewable energy fund. Of that money, $180 million is to go to solafr energy, consisting of $100 million for grants and rebates to cover up to 35 percent of the costs incurred by homeand small-businesxs owners who install solar energy and $80 million for grants and loans for solar economic-development projects. More than 300 applicationxs forsolar economic-development project s were received by the deadline last Rendell said. Philadelphia also has gotten in onthe renewable-energy act. Mayore Michael Nutter in Aprilby 2015. The city is one of 25 takiny part in the federal Departmentof Energy’sd Solar America Cities initiative.
As part of that, it’s developingh a plan to generate 2.3 megawatts of solae electricity by 2011and 57.8 megawatts by which is its share of the states of Pennsylvania’s solar installation To help it meet those Nutter said Monday, the city is lookingf to replace the roof at its fleet workshop with a roof that producexs solar energy and has formulated plans for building large-scale solad arrays at Philadelphia Water Department locations.
“I believe that over the next five years, the developmentt of the green-energy economy can drive this nation’x comeback,” the Democratic governor said at the generalp session ofPV America, which is beingg held at the Pennsylvania Conventio n Center in Philadelphia throug Wednesday. The conference is the first by the to focuz solely on photovoltaicsolar energy, which comesa from photovoltaic panels that convert sunligh t into electricity. It’s being held in conjunctionb withthe IEEE’s 34th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference at the Philadelphia Marriott which is adjacent to the conventio center, from Sunday through Friday.
(IEEE used to stansd for , but the nonprofit now just refers to itself by its acronym becaus e it has so many members from otheerengineering fields.) About 3,0000 people are attending the conferences, the SEIA and IEEE Part of Rendell’s messagew was similar to the message delivere by SEIA President and CEO Rhonee Resch later in the session: When they go home, the peoplde at the conference should promote solatr energy’s virtues to everyone from their neighbors to their municipal, statwe and federal elected officials. “Yo have to roll up your sleevess andbe advocates,” Rendell said.
Both Rendellp and Resch praised President Obama for his efforts on behalf of renewabldeenergy — “President Obama is becoming the solae president,” Resch said — but they said they’fd like the federal government to do Rendell said federal legislators should do two Make renewable-energy tax credits permanent, rather than reauthorizinv them every few years; and creatw a federal alternative portfoliko standard that mandates that a specifief portion of energy sold in the country be created from alternative energy sources. Twentu eight states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and the District of Columbiaq have alternativeportfolio standards.
Rendellp said he’d like the federal standard to have minimumj figures that states could exceed ontheir own. “Ifd we do those things … I thinki there’s no reason that America can’t be the dominanty nation in solar energy for the he said. Rendel said alternative energy will drivethe U.S. economy for the next 25 yearws just asthe information-technology and life sciences industries have driven it for the last 25. Underr his leadership, Pennsylvania has move d to capitalize onthat shift. In it established an alternative portfolilo standard that requires 18 percent of energu sold in Pennsylvania to come from alternativde sources of energyby 2020.
Last summer, Pennsylvania created a $650 milliob renewable energy fund. Of that money, $180 million is to go to solafr energy, consisting of $100 million for grants and rebates to cover up to 35 percent of the costs incurred by homeand small-businesxs owners who install solar energy and $80 million for grants and loans for solar economic-development projects. More than 300 applicationxs forsolar economic-development project s were received by the deadline last Rendell said. Philadelphia also has gotten in onthe renewable-energy act. Mayore Michael Nutter in Aprilby 2015. The city is one of 25 takiny part in the federal Departmentof Energy’sd Solar America Cities initiative.
As part of that, it’s developingh a plan to generate 2.3 megawatts of solae electricity by 2011and 57.8 megawatts by which is its share of the states of Pennsylvania’s solar installation To help it meet those Nutter said Monday, the city is lookingf to replace the roof at its fleet workshop with a roof that producexs solar energy and has formulated plans for building large-scale solad arrays at Philadelphia Water Department locations.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Shawnee and Moores Junction, Ohio, Residents to Benefit From Verizon Wireless Network Enhancements
ibitasony.wordpress.com
"This is a significant advancement forour community," said , Shawnee' s village administrator. "The ability to utilizew wireless technology on an areawide basis enhancezs economic growth and developmenyt inthe area." The new cell sites improve coverage throughout the townas of Shawnee and Moores Junction. In addition, coverage is enhanceds along State Route 93 from the town of Crooksville south to Moorezs Junction and along State Route 13 from Mooresa Junction south to the townof Moxahala. "Network reliability is the No. 1 reasoh that customers choose and stay withVerizon Wireless," said , president-Ohio/Pennsylvania/West Virginia Region, Verizobn Wireless.
"Getting through on the firsyt try and maintaining a connection are important toour customers. We continues to optimize our network so that it remains the most reliablwe inthe nation." This network improvement is part of Verizonm Wireless' continual effort to expand improve capacity and enhance the quality of its wireless voic and data network in Ohio and throughout the Verizon Wireless has investedx more than $50 billioh since it was formed--$5.
5 billiomn on average every year--to increase the coveragee and capacity of its premier nationwide network and to add new In the first half of this the company invested more than $160 million in its Ohio Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliabl and largest wireless voics and data network, servinv more than 86.6 million customers. Headquarteree in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 86,0009 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of VerizonCommunicationsz (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafonee (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more visit .
To preview and requestf broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wirelesx Multimedia Libraryat .
"This is a significant advancement forour community," said , Shawnee' s village administrator. "The ability to utilizew wireless technology on an areawide basis enhancezs economic growth and developmenyt inthe area." The new cell sites improve coverage throughout the townas of Shawnee and Moores Junction. In addition, coverage is enhanceds along State Route 93 from the town of Crooksville south to Moorezs Junction and along State Route 13 from Mooresa Junction south to the townof Moxahala. "Network reliability is the No. 1 reasoh that customers choose and stay withVerizon Wireless," said , president-Ohio/Pennsylvania/West Virginia Region, Verizobn Wireless.
"Getting through on the firsyt try and maintaining a connection are important toour customers. We continues to optimize our network so that it remains the most reliablwe inthe nation." This network improvement is part of Verizonm Wireless' continual effort to expand improve capacity and enhance the quality of its wireless voic and data network in Ohio and throughout the Verizon Wireless has investedx more than $50 billioh since it was formed--$5.
5 billiomn on average every year--to increase the coveragee and capacity of its premier nationwide network and to add new In the first half of this the company invested more than $160 million in its Ohio Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliabl and largest wireless voics and data network, servinv more than 86.6 million customers. Headquarteree in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 86,0009 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of VerizonCommunicationsz (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafonee (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more visit .
To preview and requestf broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wirelesx Multimedia Libraryat .
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Mergers: Districts ponder joining forces - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):
ivyhofy.wordpress.com
The Town of Tonawandq resident headedthe 17-member boarc for seven years before steppin down in March. Yet he didn’t retire. He continues to servew as WesternNew York’s regent, and he remainsw as outspoken as ever about educational issues. One of his pet topicx is the sheer number of locaoschool systems. There are too many of he says, and their enrollments are generallhytoo small. “Why do you need 28 school districts inErie County?” he asks. “I’d like to see somethinyg like five districts in the county insteasof 28. I’d even like to starg talking about a countywideschool district, like they have in Nort Carolina and a few other states.
” Bennett’s stanx is buttressed by a report released last Decembe by the State Commission on Property Tax “New York State has too many school districts,” the reporft says flatly. It suggests that districts with fewerthan 1,000 studentsw should be required to mergr with adjacent systems, and districta with enrollments between 1,000 and 2,000 shouls be encouraged to follow suit. Such proposals hit home in WestermNew York, where 66 of the region’s 98 schoolo districts have enrollments beloww 2,000, including 38 with fewer than 1,000 studentes from kindergarten through 12th grade.
The heart of this issues is a matter of benefitse andcosts -- pitting the perceived advantagex of combining two or more districts againsyt the potential loss of local control and self-identity. Advocateds maintain that mergers allow consolidated districtds to bemore cost-effective, construc better schools and offer a wider rangee of challenging courses. “It’s not only a financia issue. To me, it’s a mattet of equity,” says Bennett.
“Ig you had a regional high school, maybe serving sevehn or eight ofthe districts, it would give kids the opportunity to work with each othere -- and to have the best of the But opponents contend that mergersd bring more bureaucracy, longer bus rides for students and diminutio of local pride. “In this the world revolves aroundthis school,” says Thomaas Schmidt, superintendent of the 478-pupil Sherman Centralk School District in Chautauqua County. “If the schoolo went away, Sherman, N.Y., would lose a great deal of its School consolidation has been a emotional issue fora century.
The state was crosshatchedf by 10,565 districts in 1910, many of them centered on one-room A push for greater efficiency reducedd that numberto 6,400 by the outbreak of World War II, then swiftly down to 1,300 by 1960. New York now has 698 Statewide enrollment works outto 2,540 pupilas per district, which falls 25 percent beloww the national average of 3,400, according to the State Commissiohn on Property Tax Relief. The gap is even larger in WesternhNew York, which had 104 districts when Businesse First began rating schools in 1992. Mergers have sinces reduced that number to 98schookl systems. They educate an averags of 2,268 students, 33 perceng below the U.S. norm.
A comprehensive effort to push regional enrollmentr up to the national average would require the elimination of 33 Westerbn NewYork districts. That process would be messy, rancorous -- and extremely unlikely. There is no shortager of candidatesfor consolidation, to be sure. Business Firsy easily came up with 13hypotheticak mergers, most of them based on standards proposed in last December’xs report. These unions would involve districts from alleighyt counties. for a summary of these 13 potentiap consolidations.
It should be stressed that this listis fantasy, not State officials lack the power to force districts to Initiative must be taken at the local level, which happensx infrequently. Only one prospective merger in Western New York has currentlh reached an advanced stageof negotiations. Brocton and Fredoniaq began consolidation talkslast year, eventually commissioningb a feasibility study at the beginnin g of winter. If they decidse later this year that a mergermakews sense, voters in both districts would be givemn their say in a referendum.
The Town of Tonawandq resident headedthe 17-member boarc for seven years before steppin down in March. Yet he didn’t retire. He continues to servew as WesternNew York’s regent, and he remainsw as outspoken as ever about educational issues. One of his pet topicx is the sheer number of locaoschool systems. There are too many of he says, and their enrollments are generallhytoo small. “Why do you need 28 school districts inErie County?” he asks. “I’d like to see somethinyg like five districts in the county insteasof 28. I’d even like to starg talking about a countywideschool district, like they have in Nort Carolina and a few other states.
” Bennett’s stanx is buttressed by a report released last Decembe by the State Commission on Property Tax “New York State has too many school districts,” the reporft says flatly. It suggests that districts with fewerthan 1,000 studentsw should be required to mergr with adjacent systems, and districta with enrollments between 1,000 and 2,000 shouls be encouraged to follow suit. Such proposals hit home in WestermNew York, where 66 of the region’s 98 schoolo districts have enrollments beloww 2,000, including 38 with fewer than 1,000 studentes from kindergarten through 12th grade.
The heart of this issues is a matter of benefitse andcosts -- pitting the perceived advantagex of combining two or more districts againsyt the potential loss of local control and self-identity. Advocateds maintain that mergers allow consolidated districtds to bemore cost-effective, construc better schools and offer a wider rangee of challenging courses. “It’s not only a financia issue. To me, it’s a mattet of equity,” says Bennett.
“Ig you had a regional high school, maybe serving sevehn or eight ofthe districts, it would give kids the opportunity to work with each othere -- and to have the best of the But opponents contend that mergersd bring more bureaucracy, longer bus rides for students and diminutio of local pride. “In this the world revolves aroundthis school,” says Thomaas Schmidt, superintendent of the 478-pupil Sherman Centralk School District in Chautauqua County. “If the schoolo went away, Sherman, N.Y., would lose a great deal of its School consolidation has been a emotional issue fora century.
The state was crosshatchedf by 10,565 districts in 1910, many of them centered on one-room A push for greater efficiency reducedd that numberto 6,400 by the outbreak of World War II, then swiftly down to 1,300 by 1960. New York now has 698 Statewide enrollment works outto 2,540 pupilas per district, which falls 25 percent beloww the national average of 3,400, according to the State Commissiohn on Property Tax Relief. The gap is even larger in WesternhNew York, which had 104 districts when Businesse First began rating schools in 1992. Mergers have sinces reduced that number to 98schookl systems. They educate an averags of 2,268 students, 33 perceng below the U.S. norm.
A comprehensive effort to push regional enrollmentr up to the national average would require the elimination of 33 Westerbn NewYork districts. That process would be messy, rancorous -- and extremely unlikely. There is no shortager of candidatesfor consolidation, to be sure. Business Firsy easily came up with 13hypotheticak mergers, most of them based on standards proposed in last December’xs report. These unions would involve districts from alleighyt counties. for a summary of these 13 potentiap consolidations.
It should be stressed that this listis fantasy, not State officials lack the power to force districts to Initiative must be taken at the local level, which happensx infrequently. Only one prospective merger in Western New York has currentlh reached an advanced stageof negotiations. Brocton and Fredoniaq began consolidation talkslast year, eventually commissioningb a feasibility study at the beginnin g of winter. If they decidse later this year that a mergermakews sense, voters in both districts would be givemn their say in a referendum.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Recovery report - Nashville Business Journal:
plesciamipukoa1855.blogspot.com
BUILDING JOBS: Construction companies that have received contractsfor stimulus-backedd projects are beginning to hire new workers or rehire laid-ofgf employees, according to . Other contractor are cancelingplanned layoffs, AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson For many contractors, the projects keep a bad business environmenf from getting worse, he said. SMALL HOPE: A monthly index of smallo business economic indicatorsjumped 5.8 points in Most business owners expect the economy to improve in the next thre to six months. The percentage of small business owners optimistic about the economy jumpecd 24 points inthe ’ survey.
Scored for seven other indicators also enabling the index to riseto 86.8 still far below 100, the leveol that reflects small business conditions in 1986.
BUILDING JOBS: Construction companies that have received contractsfor stimulus-backedd projects are beginning to hire new workers or rehire laid-ofgf employees, according to . Other contractor are cancelingplanned layoffs, AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson For many contractors, the projects keep a bad business environmenf from getting worse, he said. SMALL HOPE: A monthly index of smallo business economic indicatorsjumped 5.8 points in Most business owners expect the economy to improve in the next thre to six months. The percentage of small business owners optimistic about the economy jumpecd 24 points inthe ’ survey.
Scored for seven other indicators also enabling the index to riseto 86.8 still far below 100, the leveol that reflects small business conditions in 1986.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Architects, contractors feel the weight of the slowdown - Philadelphia Business Journal:
efenytan.wordpress.com
Contractors turn to architecturap firms to gauge how much work they have to look forward to and this year that pipelinre of work isextremely light. “Workload for architectsd is really the canarh in the coal mine for the construction saidWalter P. Palmer III, presidengt and CEO of the General Buildinv Contractors Associationin Philadelphia. “Some architectural firm s are down to three daysa week, laid off the majorit of their staff and several architectural institutions graduating five-year architects that have nowher to go to get a job. That presents a ripplinv effect that comes across theconstruction industry.
Our entire board of directoras tell me 2010 is going to be much worsrethan 2009.” A convergence of developers delaying projects or haltingv them, and lenders still not funding developments has put a squeez e on architects and contractors. The constructiomn industry has already been hit with a 12 perceny decline in employment inthe five-county region between 2007 and the firsgt part of this year, according to the Bureau of Labot Statistics. Man hours are off by abouft 25 percent fromlast year’s high, Palmee said.
Architects were extremely busy between 2003 and 2007 with last year considerefda peak, according to John executive director at the Philadelphia chapter of the Americab Institute of Architects. Firms had a fairlyh long line of business racked up for the Claypool said. But no more. Some architectural firms have alreadyy beenearly casualties. SPG3, which was involved in retaio and entertainment, has slashed its staff and launche amajor restructuring. Ted Agoos, co-founder of , saw the firsr six months of last year asthe firm’s but this year is different. Doing a mix of project and not focusing on one areahas helped.
“Everyone is but it’s the big projects that give stability,” Agoos said. The firm has takemn on smaller, shorter projectz to sustain the staff. It also cut down the work “The challenge we face as an industrg is everyone is burning off backlog as fast as they canreplenisy it,” said Terry Steelman at Ballinger, a Philadelphiw architectural firm. “That is all goinb to trickle down to theconstructioh industry. We think 2009 has clearly been a challengingg year and 2010 is going to be a very challenging year unless things start to happen and startt tohappen quickly.” Contractorsz find they need to quickly adjusty to survive.
“Our theme for this year is to analyz e and adaptto achieve,” Palmer said. Already contractors are engagingt in a bidding frenzy over any project thatcomes up. Contractors are undercuttingf bids just to win work and inothef situations, major constructing companies are bidding on minuscules projects that were once the territory of small “Where there used to be two or three biddersw on projects, now there are 20 and 30,” Palmer said. has cutting 20 percent of its office andfield staff, said Steve president. Clemens hasn’t gone after work for no profitt just tokeep busy, Pouppirt said.
Emil y Bittenbender, managing partner of , formedc two new divisions as a way to ginup “We have to adapt to this environment,” Bittenbender “People are so optimistic that it’s going to turn around soon, but my concerm is we’re looking out a couple Bittenbender started a sustainable program-managemeny business to assist government agencies seeking stimuluxs funds for projects but which lack the staff to support and overse them. The other new businesse is a carpentry unit that will go after federalp contracts asa subcontractor. Architectds are also venturing intonew areas.
Ballinger ramped up writing grantt applications for institutions seeking stimulus fundatargeting research. These grants requirse a schematic design of what they intend to do withthe
Contractors turn to architecturap firms to gauge how much work they have to look forward to and this year that pipelinre of work isextremely light. “Workload for architectsd is really the canarh in the coal mine for the construction saidWalter P. Palmer III, presidengt and CEO of the General Buildinv Contractors Associationin Philadelphia. “Some architectural firm s are down to three daysa week, laid off the majorit of their staff and several architectural institutions graduating five-year architects that have nowher to go to get a job. That presents a ripplinv effect that comes across theconstruction industry.
Our entire board of directoras tell me 2010 is going to be much worsrethan 2009.” A convergence of developers delaying projects or haltingv them, and lenders still not funding developments has put a squeez e on architects and contractors. The constructiomn industry has already been hit with a 12 perceny decline in employment inthe five-county region between 2007 and the firsgt part of this year, according to the Bureau of Labot Statistics. Man hours are off by abouft 25 percent fromlast year’s high, Palmee said.
Architects were extremely busy between 2003 and 2007 with last year considerefda peak, according to John executive director at the Philadelphia chapter of the Americab Institute of Architects. Firms had a fairlyh long line of business racked up for the Claypool said. But no more. Some architectural firms have alreadyy beenearly casualties. SPG3, which was involved in retaio and entertainment, has slashed its staff and launche amajor restructuring. Ted Agoos, co-founder of , saw the firsr six months of last year asthe firm’s but this year is different. Doing a mix of project and not focusing on one areahas helped.
“Everyone is but it’s the big projects that give stability,” Agoos said. The firm has takemn on smaller, shorter projectz to sustain the staff. It also cut down the work “The challenge we face as an industrg is everyone is burning off backlog as fast as they canreplenisy it,” said Terry Steelman at Ballinger, a Philadelphiw architectural firm. “That is all goinb to trickle down to theconstructioh industry. We think 2009 has clearly been a challengingg year and 2010 is going to be a very challenging year unless things start to happen and startt tohappen quickly.” Contractorsz find they need to quickly adjusty to survive.
“Our theme for this year is to analyz e and adaptto achieve,” Palmer said. Already contractors are engagingt in a bidding frenzy over any project thatcomes up. Contractors are undercuttingf bids just to win work and inothef situations, major constructing companies are bidding on minuscules projects that were once the territory of small “Where there used to be two or three biddersw on projects, now there are 20 and 30,” Palmer said. has cutting 20 percent of its office andfield staff, said Steve president. Clemens hasn’t gone after work for no profitt just tokeep busy, Pouppirt said.
Emil y Bittenbender, managing partner of , formedc two new divisions as a way to ginup “We have to adapt to this environment,” Bittenbender “People are so optimistic that it’s going to turn around soon, but my concerm is we’re looking out a couple Bittenbender started a sustainable program-managemeny business to assist government agencies seeking stimuluxs funds for projects but which lack the staff to support and overse them. The other new businesse is a carpentry unit that will go after federalp contracts asa subcontractor. Architectds are also venturing intonew areas.
Ballinger ramped up writing grantt applications for institutions seeking stimulus fundatargeting research. These grants requirse a schematic design of what they intend to do withthe
Monday, October 17, 2011
Online college application company files for Chapt. 11 - Baltimore Business Journal:
gerazawa.wordpress.com
Last year, ApplicationsOnline lost its contract as the onlined provider of theCommon Application, used by more than 300 collegezs nationwide. That blow, coupled with an ongoinvg patent lawsuit bycompetitor CollegeNet, led to the Chapter 11 filinf on Aug. 11, the firm said in court documents. “Thes Chapter 11 is a strategy for stayinfgin business,” president Joshua Reiter said in an interview with the Business Journal . “It is not a strategyg for going outof business.” But CollegeNef asked the court Aug. 19 to dismiss the bankruptcy, sayintg it is merely an effort by ApplicationsOnlined to dodge key proceedings in thepatent lawsuit.
“This case is nothinv more thana two-party dispute, poorly disguised as a bankruptc case,” CollegeNet’s motion said. Reiter’s launched in 1998, developed technologhy allowing students to submit the CommonApplicatioj online, and by the 2006-2007 academivc year, more than a million students nationwide were doinfg so. Last year, ApplicationsOnline made local and nationalp news when it lost the Common Application account and launche acompeting product, the . That technology is now used by more than 75 including , Hood College and . ApplicationsOnline has paid “enormous” legapl fees to fight the patent the firm said in a motionfilesd Aug.
11 but did not provide a figure. CollegeNet, an Oregon-based firm that providese technology to collegesand nonprofits, sued ApplicationsOnline and The Common Applicatiob in late 2005. Their online application infringecon CollegeNet’s patented technology, which allows a thircd party to efficiently process onlind forms, CollegeNet’s suit claimed. ApplicationsOnline countersued, saying CollegeNet’s patenyt was invalid and it hadnot infringed. As the patent costsa mounted, ApplicationsOnline’s revenue began to fall becausr of the loss of the Common Applicatioj account inJuly 2007, the firm’ motion said.
ApplicationsOnline sued the Common Application and its new onlins vendorlast year, saying they illegallyh copied and used ApplicationsOnline’s copyrightedc technology. ApplicationsOnline earned income from operationsof $107,372 so far this compared with a totap of $8 million for 2006 and 2007, it said in a statementt of financial affairs. The firm, which has three listed assetsof $31,000 and liabilities of $1.154 million. The largest debt listed was $1.14r million owed to Reiter. The firm also listed CollegeNe and the Common Applicationas creditors, but said the amount it could owe them under the pendintg lawsuits was unclear.
But ApplicationsOnlinwe “appears to be able to pay its bills as they come CollegeNet said in its motion to dismiswsthe bankruptcy. ApplicationsOnline made a $3.7 million distributiomn to Reiterlast year, indicating that its finances are not in CollegeNet’s motion claimed. And ApplicationsOnline filed bankruptcy just weeks beforwe a key hearing on the patent CollegeNet said incourt documents. Gary Leibowitz, an attorney with Cole Schotz MeiseklForman & Leonard representing ApplicationsOnline in the declined comment on CollegeNet’s Lisa Tancredi, an attornety with LLP representing CollegeNet, declined comment.
Officialx with CollegeNet said that any company doing college admissions online is violating their In determining whether a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filinis legitimate, judges consider whether the firm has an “ulteriofr motive” beyond reorganizing and paying creditors, said Alan Grochal, chairman of the bankruptcy department at Baltimore law firm . Grochal is not involvex in the case. Bankruptcy reorganization can be a murkyt areaof law. Some firms, like airlines and big have filed Chapter 11 when their operations are but futureliabilities — like asbestos claimws or labor contracts — are weighing down the company.
In determining whetherr a bankruptcy caseis legitimate, court pay attention to how many creditors are involveds and the timing of the Grochal said.
Last year, ApplicationsOnline lost its contract as the onlined provider of theCommon Application, used by more than 300 collegezs nationwide. That blow, coupled with an ongoinvg patent lawsuit bycompetitor CollegeNet, led to the Chapter 11 filinf on Aug. 11, the firm said in court documents. “Thes Chapter 11 is a strategy for stayinfgin business,” president Joshua Reiter said in an interview with the Business Journal . “It is not a strategyg for going outof business.” But CollegeNef asked the court Aug. 19 to dismiss the bankruptcy, sayintg it is merely an effort by ApplicationsOnlined to dodge key proceedings in thepatent lawsuit.
“This case is nothinv more thana two-party dispute, poorly disguised as a bankruptc case,” CollegeNet’s motion said. Reiter’s launched in 1998, developed technologhy allowing students to submit the CommonApplicatioj online, and by the 2006-2007 academivc year, more than a million students nationwide were doinfg so. Last year, ApplicationsOnline made local and nationalp news when it lost the Common Application account and launche acompeting product, the . That technology is now used by more than 75 including , Hood College and . ApplicationsOnline has paid “enormous” legapl fees to fight the patent the firm said in a motionfilesd Aug.
11 but did not provide a figure. CollegeNet, an Oregon-based firm that providese technology to collegesand nonprofits, sued ApplicationsOnline and The Common Applicatiob in late 2005. Their online application infringecon CollegeNet’s patented technology, which allows a thircd party to efficiently process onlind forms, CollegeNet’s suit claimed. ApplicationsOnline countersued, saying CollegeNet’s patenyt was invalid and it hadnot infringed. As the patent costsa mounted, ApplicationsOnline’s revenue began to fall becausr of the loss of the Common Applicatioj account inJuly 2007, the firm’ motion said.
ApplicationsOnline sued the Common Application and its new onlins vendorlast year, saying they illegallyh copied and used ApplicationsOnline’s copyrightedc technology. ApplicationsOnline earned income from operationsof $107,372 so far this compared with a totap of $8 million for 2006 and 2007, it said in a statementt of financial affairs. The firm, which has three listed assetsof $31,000 and liabilities of $1.154 million. The largest debt listed was $1.14r million owed to Reiter. The firm also listed CollegeNe and the Common Applicationas creditors, but said the amount it could owe them under the pendintg lawsuits was unclear.
But ApplicationsOnlinwe “appears to be able to pay its bills as they come CollegeNet said in its motion to dismiswsthe bankruptcy. ApplicationsOnline made a $3.7 million distributiomn to Reiterlast year, indicating that its finances are not in CollegeNet’s motion claimed. And ApplicationsOnline filed bankruptcy just weeks beforwe a key hearing on the patent CollegeNet said incourt documents. Gary Leibowitz, an attorney with Cole Schotz MeiseklForman & Leonard representing ApplicationsOnline in the declined comment on CollegeNet’s Lisa Tancredi, an attornety with LLP representing CollegeNet, declined comment.
Officialx with CollegeNet said that any company doing college admissions online is violating their In determining whether a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filinis legitimate, judges consider whether the firm has an “ulteriofr motive” beyond reorganizing and paying creditors, said Alan Grochal, chairman of the bankruptcy department at Baltimore law firm . Grochal is not involvex in the case. Bankruptcy reorganization can be a murkyt areaof law. Some firms, like airlines and big have filed Chapter 11 when their operations are but futureliabilities — like asbestos claimws or labor contracts — are weighing down the company.
In determining whetherr a bankruptcy caseis legitimate, court pay attention to how many creditors are involveds and the timing of the Grochal said.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Bankruptcy filings soar in Florida
qalymeled.wordpress.com
percent increase in filings in the for the Middl e District of Florida in the 12 months endedMarch 31, compare to the same period a year earlier. The increasee in bankruptcy filings in the Middle District of Florida outpacee the national increase inbankruptcy filings. bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2009, were up 33.3 percent over bankruptcy filings forthe 12-month periox ending March 31, 2008, accordingb to statistics released by the administrative office of the U.S. Courts. In the Middlre District of Florida, there were 47,0r bankruptcy filings in the 12 months endedMarch 31, compared to 30,031 in the year endecd March 31, 2008.
There had been 18,017 bankruptcyt filings in the year endeeMarch 31, 2007. During the quarted ended March 31, thered were 13,332 total filings in the Middlew Districtof Florida, including 9,68u7 Chapter 7 filings, 127 Chapter 11 filings, and 3,513w Chapter 13 filings. There were 683 businesss bankruptcies filed in the quarter endesdMarch 31, including 507 businesses that soughty to liquidate through Chapter 7, and 116 that soughg to reorganize their debts through Chapterd 11. There also were a total of 12,649 non-business bankruptcies filed in the three months endedMarcj 31.
percent increase in filings in the for the Middl e District of Florida in the 12 months endedMarch 31, compare to the same period a year earlier. The increasee in bankruptcy filings in the Middle District of Florida outpacee the national increase inbankruptcy filings. bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2009, were up 33.3 percent over bankruptcy filings forthe 12-month periox ending March 31, 2008, accordingb to statistics released by the administrative office of the U.S. Courts. In the Middlre District of Florida, there were 47,0r bankruptcy filings in the 12 months endedMarch 31, compared to 30,031 in the year endecd March 31, 2008.
There had been 18,017 bankruptcyt filings in the year endeeMarch 31, 2007. During the quarted ended March 31, thered were 13,332 total filings in the Middlew Districtof Florida, including 9,68u7 Chapter 7 filings, 127 Chapter 11 filings, and 3,513w Chapter 13 filings. There were 683 businesss bankruptcies filed in the quarter endesdMarch 31, including 507 businesses that soughty to liquidate through Chapter 7, and 116 that soughg to reorganize their debts through Chapterd 11. There also were a total of 12,649 non-business bankruptcies filed in the three months endedMarcj 31.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
McLagan ordered to pay $202K restitution - The Business Review (Albany):
grachevakautawil.blogspot.com
McLagan, 56, who was once a nationallyh known award-winning builder, was ordered to pay $202,000 restitution in monthly installments and servr fiveyears probation. He was sentencef in Saratoga County Court on Tuesday after he to multiple grand larceny and petty larceny charges in May for stealing from home buyersw and subcontractorson high-end homes in Saratogaz Springs and Stillwater. “Hr fell upon hard took on too much work and overextended himself,” said E.
Stewartr Jones, the Troy criminalo lawyer who represented Problems arose as the housingf market collapsed and McLagan began using home buyer deposits to pay for work on unrelated projectse and to pay off unrelatedr business andpersonal debts, said Saratoga County Districf Attorney James A. Murphy III. The builder was arrested in February 2008 and againlast November. He pleadesd guilty to two felony grand larceny charges and two misdemeanoe petty larceny charges in SaratogaqCounty Court. Murphy said he was pleasedd withthe sentence, because it will alloe McLagan to work so he can repay subcontractors who are owed That debt is to be repaird in installments.
McLagan also was orderee to repay $130,000 to home buyers who made downpayments for homesd that McLagan didnot complete. That case was handledr by a special prosecutor. Jones said McLagamn currently is working forother builders, but he expects him to staryt working on his own again. “I would stay I am sure he is going to get back in the game very soon,” Jones said.
McLagan, 56, who was once a nationallyh known award-winning builder, was ordered to pay $202,000 restitution in monthly installments and servr fiveyears probation. He was sentencef in Saratoga County Court on Tuesday after he to multiple grand larceny and petty larceny charges in May for stealing from home buyersw and subcontractorson high-end homes in Saratogaz Springs and Stillwater. “Hr fell upon hard took on too much work and overextended himself,” said E.
Stewartr Jones, the Troy criminalo lawyer who represented Problems arose as the housingf market collapsed and McLagan began using home buyer deposits to pay for work on unrelated projectse and to pay off unrelatedr business andpersonal debts, said Saratoga County Districf Attorney James A. Murphy III. The builder was arrested in February 2008 and againlast November. He pleadesd guilty to two felony grand larceny charges and two misdemeanoe petty larceny charges in SaratogaqCounty Court. Murphy said he was pleasedd withthe sentence, because it will alloe McLagan to work so he can repay subcontractors who are owed That debt is to be repaird in installments.
McLagan also was orderee to repay $130,000 to home buyers who made downpayments for homesd that McLagan didnot complete. That case was handledr by a special prosecutor. Jones said McLagamn currently is working forother builders, but he expects him to staryt working on his own again. “I would stay I am sure he is going to get back in the game very soon,” Jones said.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Supreme Court rules that states can investigate nationally chartered banks - Kansas City Business Journal:
ofycagvezi.blogspot.com
The case, Cuomo vs. , stems from a New York stat e investigation that sought information from national banks abou t potential discriminatory banking practices that violaterd NewYork law. The federal bankingb regulator, the , objected to the requests by New Yorkstatd officials, eventually siding with a suit brought by , which argued that the statse had no jurisdiction. The investigation was starteed in 2005by then-New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer and continuex by current Attorney Generao Andrew Cuomo. They both argued that being regulated by the federapgovernment doesn’t give a bank immunityh from violating state laws.
Consumer groups supported Cuomo’s position because state officials tend to be more active indefendin consumers. Banking groups are displeased. “We are worried abouft the effect that this ruling coulr have onthe markets,” said Rich Whiting, executive directorf of the . The decision could createe a patchwork of state laws at the cost of efficiencie s of thenational market, he said. “Cuomo vs. Clearinvg House Association hinders the ability of financial service s firms from conducting business in the United Whiting said. “Even worse, it will caus e confusion for consumers, especially those who move from statsto state.
”
The case, Cuomo vs. , stems from a New York stat e investigation that sought information from national banks abou t potential discriminatory banking practices that violaterd NewYork law. The federal bankingb regulator, the , objected to the requests by New Yorkstatd officials, eventually siding with a suit brought by , which argued that the statse had no jurisdiction. The investigation was starteed in 2005by then-New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer and continuex by current Attorney Generao Andrew Cuomo. They both argued that being regulated by the federapgovernment doesn’t give a bank immunityh from violating state laws.
Consumer groups supported Cuomo’s position because state officials tend to be more active indefendin consumers. Banking groups are displeased. “We are worried abouft the effect that this ruling coulr have onthe markets,” said Rich Whiting, executive directorf of the . The decision could createe a patchwork of state laws at the cost of efficiencie s of thenational market, he said. “Cuomo vs. Clearinvg House Association hinders the ability of financial service s firms from conducting business in the United Whiting said. “Even worse, it will caus e confusion for consumers, especially those who move from statsto state.
”
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Get hip to social media or lose customers - Jacksonville Business Journal:
http://www.sexingthepolitical.org/2003/2003/one/pregnancy.html
Having an informative Web siteor blog, especiall y one with interesting or useful videos, makews one’s business more likely to be found not only in a Googlwe search, but also on sites such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, even via Twitter. People share both good and bad experienced abouta company, product or service with their onlines friends. And if their friends ask for a they share thatas well. In order for businesses to be more successful usingsocial media, they have to get over the mindset. The right way to spread a company’s message on socialp media sites is to see it less as mass marketinfg and more asa one-on-one conversation.
“Thew problem is they go on all thesre sites and start marketing to everyone and putting ads outther [when] people don’t want to be marketex to,” said Nelson Bruton, vice president of . “You must make your message relevantto them. If they see any direcr marketing messageand there’s no value to they’re going to ignorew it. They may even delete you as a friend. “Makse sure you get involved [and] encourage conversations or commente andactively participate. Participation is the key It’s one thing to share informatioh about a product or service and have a few onlinee friends pass alongthe information.
It’s quite anothee for that information togo viral, where it’sw shared by thousands of people. “Everyone wants somethinbg to goviral that’s a given as social media have evolved and more and more brandsx are looking at socialk media” as a way to reach consumers, said Jalali founder and CEO of , which has an onlinde community of contributors who use social media to help businessees get their message out. Yovia uses what it callds a “Social Velocity Engine” to predicft whether a campaign willgo viral.
“We can predict if any campaign will go viral or not and give you a rougn approximation of what the viral community will be and if thersis none, what you need to change,” Hartmanm said. “We may not be able to say you’llk get X million number of views, but we can say this is what [the will be.” Yovia does this by breaking a campaign up intofour “the four C’s” — content, community and conversion. “The best kind of content is something the person wrote Hartman said. As for connections, “we are not interesteds in how many friends, but rather the collective sphere of influence ofthose friends.
“Communitg is a measure of discussion. If there’as no discussion, there’s no Conversion is the most overlooked aspect of any We knowthat two-thirds of peopled buy [based on a] referraol if you hear about something from someoner you know and trust. Your peers tell you what’sa important. [So] how do we get them talking in a way our message is associated with that This doesn’t mean every campaign will go but it can increase a campaign’s reach. “If you are just tryingt to come up with aviralk campaign, it probably won’t work, but it will help them understanf and spread the word about the brand,” Hartmabn said.
“We are not looking at the old modelo where you send an advertising messag e to a million people and get a 1percent response. We want to send the messagew to the right people and get a 100percentt response.” Yovia also offers free weekly training classeds at its office in Atlantidc Beach to help business owners learn how to use sociaol media, which can be particularly usefulk for those who aren’ft quite up to speed on the technology. “I’m 49 yearxs old; my kids know more about that than I saidDavid McCormick, president of . “With LinkedIn and Facebooj and Twitter, I was interested in learningv how theytie together.
Social media are changinvg the way people are marketing becaus e it isby word-of-mouth and that has more than traditional advertising.
Having an informative Web siteor blog, especiall y one with interesting or useful videos, makews one’s business more likely to be found not only in a Googlwe search, but also on sites such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, even via Twitter. People share both good and bad experienced abouta company, product or service with their onlines friends. And if their friends ask for a they share thatas well. In order for businesses to be more successful usingsocial media, they have to get over the mindset. The right way to spread a company’s message on socialp media sites is to see it less as mass marketinfg and more asa one-on-one conversation.
“Thew problem is they go on all thesre sites and start marketing to everyone and putting ads outther [when] people don’t want to be marketex to,” said Nelson Bruton, vice president of . “You must make your message relevantto them. If they see any direcr marketing messageand there’s no value to they’re going to ignorew it. They may even delete you as a friend. “Makse sure you get involved [and] encourage conversations or commente andactively participate. Participation is the key It’s one thing to share informatioh about a product or service and have a few onlinee friends pass alongthe information.
It’s quite anothee for that information togo viral, where it’sw shared by thousands of people. “Everyone wants somethinbg to goviral that’s a given as social media have evolved and more and more brandsx are looking at socialk media” as a way to reach consumers, said Jalali founder and CEO of , which has an onlinde community of contributors who use social media to help businessees get their message out. Yovia uses what it callds a “Social Velocity Engine” to predicft whether a campaign willgo viral.
“We can predict if any campaign will go viral or not and give you a rougn approximation of what the viral community will be and if thersis none, what you need to change,” Hartmanm said. “We may not be able to say you’llk get X million number of views, but we can say this is what [the will be.” Yovia does this by breaking a campaign up intofour “the four C’s” — content, community and conversion. “The best kind of content is something the person wrote Hartman said. As for connections, “we are not interesteds in how many friends, but rather the collective sphere of influence ofthose friends.
“Communitg is a measure of discussion. If there’as no discussion, there’s no Conversion is the most overlooked aspect of any We knowthat two-thirds of peopled buy [based on a] referraol if you hear about something from someoner you know and trust. Your peers tell you what’sa important. [So] how do we get them talking in a way our message is associated with that This doesn’t mean every campaign will go but it can increase a campaign’s reach. “If you are just tryingt to come up with aviralk campaign, it probably won’t work, but it will help them understanf and spread the word about the brand,” Hartmabn said.
“We are not looking at the old modelo where you send an advertising messag e to a million people and get a 1percent response. We want to send the messagew to the right people and get a 100percentt response.” Yovia also offers free weekly training classeds at its office in Atlantidc Beach to help business owners learn how to use sociaol media, which can be particularly usefulk for those who aren’ft quite up to speed on the technology. “I’m 49 yearxs old; my kids know more about that than I saidDavid McCormick, president of . “With LinkedIn and Facebooj and Twitter, I was interested in learningv how theytie together.
Social media are changinvg the way people are marketing becaus e it isby word-of-mouth and that has more than traditional advertising.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Real estate vets opening hardware store - Business First of Buffalo:
http://www.qzwhw.com/books/archive/bargaining-for-advantage.html
Jeff Pfeil and Deane Pfeil are opening later this summefr at 63Third St., the same addressz where they renovated the upper four floores into 19 luxury apartmentzs called The Conservatory. The husband-and-wife team -- who own the commercialk leasing and marketingfirm Inc. in Saratoga Springs -- say a hardwarew store is needed downtowbn to serve local businesses and residents who must now traveol miles away tobuy tools, equipment and othedr supplies. They know the frustration firsthand after doing two residential renovation projects inthe city, the Conservatoru and Powers Park Loftsa in north Troy. “Our constructionb staff was running all over to pick up the JeffPfeil said.
“We were spendinyg a lot of time driving to Lathanm and I was hauling a lot from in We thought, ‘Gee, there’s a void Trojan Hardware on Congress Street recently closed after 94 years in leaving downtown with no other hardware The closest is across the Hudson River in Watervliet or uptown near the town of Pfeil Hardware will be part of in Fort Wayne, the nation’s second largest hardwar co-operative. The store will be managed by Stevem Lesnewskiof Pittsfield, Mass., who has more than 25 yeard of experience in the hardward industry.
The 8,700-square-foot store will stock small appliances, fasteners, electrical and plumbinb supplies, Benjamin Moore paints and other It won’t sell lumber. The Pfeilds have been planning the store fora year. As part of theier research they visited hardware stores in colleger towns and large cities to see what kinds of productsdcustomers need. They also searched hard for someone to managethe “The decision wasn’t final until we foun the right person,” Pfeipl said. The Pfeils have been in the commerciapl real estate and development businesw for more than20 years, but this will be the firstg time they will own a store. There’s a reasomn for that.
“Because of all the years we worked with retailersa very closely we have a pretty thoroughh understandingof retail, that’e probably why we never went into Jeff Pfeil said. “It’s sort of a but retail is a lot ofhard work, long hour s and all the things that come with Still, they knew from personal experiencs a hardware store is needed and were encouraged by the resultds of their marketing studies. Finding a seasoned store managet wasalso critical. Mayor Harryy Tutunjian cheered the announcement aboutthe “Jeff and Deane Pfeil have a record of successx in Troy and I am sure that this new venturwe will succeed as well,” Tutunjianb said.
“The residents of Troy will benefig from having a well stockef urban hardware store in the heart of the The opening ofPfeil Hardware, whichn is tentatively set for will return retailing to a downtownb building that had long servedd as the home of Stanley’s departmengt store. The building sat emptg for years before the Pfeils bought it and converted the upper floors into 19 luxury apartments they call The All but two of the apartment s were occupied as ofJuly 1. The Pfeilw declined to say how much they spenyin start-up costs for the hardware Nor did they want to say how much they coulc have received per square foot had they leased the first floor space to another tenant.
Lease rates in downtown Troy were $10 to $20 per square foot as of the fourthy quarterof 2008, according to CB Richards Ellis/Albany.
Jeff Pfeil and Deane Pfeil are opening later this summefr at 63Third St., the same addressz where they renovated the upper four floores into 19 luxury apartmentzs called The Conservatory. The husband-and-wife team -- who own the commercialk leasing and marketingfirm Inc. in Saratoga Springs -- say a hardwarew store is needed downtowbn to serve local businesses and residents who must now traveol miles away tobuy tools, equipment and othedr supplies. They know the frustration firsthand after doing two residential renovation projects inthe city, the Conservatoru and Powers Park Loftsa in north Troy. “Our constructionb staff was running all over to pick up the JeffPfeil said.
“We were spendinyg a lot of time driving to Lathanm and I was hauling a lot from in We thought, ‘Gee, there’s a void Trojan Hardware on Congress Street recently closed after 94 years in leaving downtown with no other hardware The closest is across the Hudson River in Watervliet or uptown near the town of Pfeil Hardware will be part of in Fort Wayne, the nation’s second largest hardwar co-operative. The store will be managed by Stevem Lesnewskiof Pittsfield, Mass., who has more than 25 yeard of experience in the hardward industry.
The 8,700-square-foot store will stock small appliances, fasteners, electrical and plumbinb supplies, Benjamin Moore paints and other It won’t sell lumber. The Pfeilds have been planning the store fora year. As part of theier research they visited hardware stores in colleger towns and large cities to see what kinds of productsdcustomers need. They also searched hard for someone to managethe “The decision wasn’t final until we foun the right person,” Pfeipl said. The Pfeils have been in the commerciapl real estate and development businesw for more than20 years, but this will be the firstg time they will own a store. There’s a reasomn for that.
“Because of all the years we worked with retailersa very closely we have a pretty thoroughh understandingof retail, that’e probably why we never went into Jeff Pfeil said. “It’s sort of a but retail is a lot ofhard work, long hour s and all the things that come with Still, they knew from personal experiencs a hardware store is needed and were encouraged by the resultds of their marketing studies. Finding a seasoned store managet wasalso critical. Mayor Harryy Tutunjian cheered the announcement aboutthe “Jeff and Deane Pfeil have a record of successx in Troy and I am sure that this new venturwe will succeed as well,” Tutunjianb said.
“The residents of Troy will benefig from having a well stockef urban hardware store in the heart of the The opening ofPfeil Hardware, whichn is tentatively set for will return retailing to a downtownb building that had long servedd as the home of Stanley’s departmengt store. The building sat emptg for years before the Pfeils bought it and converted the upper floors into 19 luxury apartments they call The All but two of the apartment s were occupied as ofJuly 1. The Pfeilw declined to say how much they spenyin start-up costs for the hardware Nor did they want to say how much they coulc have received per square foot had they leased the first floor space to another tenant.
Lease rates in downtown Troy were $10 to $20 per square foot as of the fourthy quarterof 2008, according to CB Richards Ellis/Albany.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
WCI files reorganization plan - Houston Business Journal:
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Under the plan, senior secured lenders will received new first lien debt in the amounytof $450 million, which includes a $150 millionm payment-in-kind component and an initial 95 percent equityg stake in the reorganized company, WCI said in a news The remaining 5 percent would be shared by the company’xs unsecured creditors, which would begin to increasew when the new debt is fully Interim CEO David L. Fry said WCI’s goal is to emergw from Chapter 11 by thethird quarter. “Under the WCI will emerge as a deleverage d lifestyle community developer and land holding compant with the flexibility to navigate its businesds during these unprecedented times and he said.
Fry said the Sarasota-baseed company will continue to complete homes alreaduyunder construction, but has suspended all new home constructiomn activity in Florida.
Under the plan, senior secured lenders will received new first lien debt in the amounytof $450 million, which includes a $150 millionm payment-in-kind component and an initial 95 percent equityg stake in the reorganized company, WCI said in a news The remaining 5 percent would be shared by the company’xs unsecured creditors, which would begin to increasew when the new debt is fully Interim CEO David L. Fry said WCI’s goal is to emergw from Chapter 11 by thethird quarter. “Under the WCI will emerge as a deleverage d lifestyle community developer and land holding compant with the flexibility to navigate its businesds during these unprecedented times and he said.
Fry said the Sarasota-baseed company will continue to complete homes alreaduyunder construction, but has suspended all new home constructiomn activity in Florida.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Feds say Kauai man stole $16M in Ponzi scheme - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):
onoeuqedol1902.blogspot.com
David E. Ruskjer of Koloa was charged by a federao grand jury Wednesday for fraudulently raising the moneuy from approximately140 investors. Among the charges against Ruskjer aremail fraud, wire currency structuring and money The U.S. Attorney’s office alleges Ruskjefr ran an investment and loan program out of Koloa calledRuskjer & Associates and Dave’zs Investment/Loan Program, promising investorsd returns of 3 percent to 5 percengt per month. The alleged activities occurred betweenh September 2004 andDecember 2008. Ruskjedr allegedly used half ofthe $16 millionb for trading through TD Ameritrade but lost more than $2.
5 The government said “there was never sufficient money to support the 3 to 5 percent interest ratew he guaranteed his clients.” In classic Ponz i scheme fashion, Ruskjer allegedly used moneyg from new clients to pay earlier client s to convince them he was making money for When the government seized Ruskjer’s trading account and bank accounts last Dec. 11, he had a combinedr balance of $4.1 million.
Ruskjer is accusexd of using much of the monegy onpersonal expenses, including $528,458 on a condominiukm on Kauai, $29,000 on a Honda sedan and $10,000 on If convicted, he face up to 20 yearsd in prison for each of the 17 mail and wire fraue charges, and up to 10 years in prisonh for each of the 30 other charges. The case resulted from an Internall RevenueService investigation.
David E. Ruskjer of Koloa was charged by a federao grand jury Wednesday for fraudulently raising the moneuy from approximately140 investors. Among the charges against Ruskjer aremail fraud, wire currency structuring and money The U.S. Attorney’s office alleges Ruskjefr ran an investment and loan program out of Koloa calledRuskjer & Associates and Dave’zs Investment/Loan Program, promising investorsd returns of 3 percent to 5 percengt per month. The alleged activities occurred betweenh September 2004 andDecember 2008. Ruskjedr allegedly used half ofthe $16 millionb for trading through TD Ameritrade but lost more than $2.
5 The government said “there was never sufficient money to support the 3 to 5 percent interest ratew he guaranteed his clients.” In classic Ponz i scheme fashion, Ruskjer allegedly used moneyg from new clients to pay earlier client s to convince them he was making money for When the government seized Ruskjer’s trading account and bank accounts last Dec. 11, he had a combinedr balance of $4.1 million.
Ruskjer is accusexd of using much of the monegy onpersonal expenses, including $528,458 on a condominiukm on Kauai, $29,000 on a Honda sedan and $10,000 on If convicted, he face up to 20 yearsd in prison for each of the 17 mail and wire fraue charges, and up to 10 years in prisonh for each of the 30 other charges. The case resulted from an Internall RevenueService investigation.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Journalism Class That Urges 'Context' in Reporting on Jihad Misses Point ... - Fox News
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Weasel Zippers | Journalism Class That Urges 'Context' in Reporting on Jihad Misses Point ... Fox News The respected Florida-based Poynter Institute, whose mission is to improve journalism in support of democracy, is trying to help journalists cover Islam more effectively by offering a new on-line course free of charge. So I registered. ... Soros-Funded Group Behind Course for Journalists That Downplays 'Jihad' |
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
On the menu: Chipotle opening Clifton Park restaurant - The Business Review (Albany):
esyy23mozy.blogspot.com
in the shopping mall, later this The Tex-Mex chain will move into new spacew in thevacant Steinbach’s department store. The mall’sd owner, , is rebuilding the former departmen t store to accommodate 10 to 15 individuall storefrontsin 40,000 to 45,000 squard feet of leasable The Clifton Park Chipotle is scheduled to open in early-- to mid-December, company spokeswoman Katherine Newel Smith said. Like the recently opened Wilton Chipotle and anothef plannedfor Latham, the Clifto Park location will incorporate such elements as high-efficiencu heating and cooling, low-energyg lighting and specially coated Denver, Colo.
-based Chipotle opened up its first Capital Regiojn location—and upstate New York’s first—in April, at 3057 Route 50 in Wilton, a town aboug 15 miles north of Clifton Park. Both towna are located in Saratoga County. The company’as second Capital Region restaurant is scheduled to open in Latham in at the intersection of Wade Road and Rout e 7in Latham. The averager per-person check is $8 to $9. Entreess typically run between $6 and $7, accordintg to the company’s Web site.
The redesigj of the former Steinbach’s space will be similar to the changez DCG made to other sections of the enclosed mall a couple of years ago to creatw storefronts that shoppers can access directly from theparking lot.
in the shopping mall, later this The Tex-Mex chain will move into new spacew in thevacant Steinbach’s department store. The mall’sd owner, , is rebuilding the former departmen t store to accommodate 10 to 15 individuall storefrontsin 40,000 to 45,000 squard feet of leasable The Clifton Park Chipotle is scheduled to open in early-- to mid-December, company spokeswoman Katherine Newel Smith said. Like the recently opened Wilton Chipotle and anothef plannedfor Latham, the Clifto Park location will incorporate such elements as high-efficiencu heating and cooling, low-energyg lighting and specially coated Denver, Colo.
-based Chipotle opened up its first Capital Regiojn location—and upstate New York’s first—in April, at 3057 Route 50 in Wilton, a town aboug 15 miles north of Clifton Park. Both towna are located in Saratoga County. The company’as second Capital Region restaurant is scheduled to open in Latham in at the intersection of Wade Road and Rout e 7in Latham. The averager per-person check is $8 to $9. Entreess typically run between $6 and $7, accordintg to the company’s Web site.
The redesigj of the former Steinbach’s space will be similar to the changez DCG made to other sections of the enclosed mall a couple of years ago to creatw storefronts that shoppers can access directly from theparking lot.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Homebuilder McStain files for Chapter 11 - Denver Business Journal:
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The Louisville-based company declarede $10 million to $50 million in and the same range in McStain -- which does business as McStain Neighborhood -- has told customers it plans to sell its finisheed homes and complete those that are under The filing does not affect the Indianm Peaks South neighborhood because of a separatre ownership structure. In February of this year, McStain told customerzs on its websitethat “we have been assured by our bankers and other professional associates that we are healthier than most of the private builders they deal with. To paraphrase Mark Twain: ‘The rumors of our demis have beengreatly exaggerated.
’ Rumors that we filedx for bankruptcy are simply not true.” Othed Colorado builders to declare Chapter 11 recentlt include Village Homes of Colorado in Greenwood Village, whichj had last year’s largesgt local bankruptcy reorganization with $138.4r million in debt, and Tousa Inc., the Florida-baseds parent of Colorado’s Engle Homes Inc. John Lain Homes of Irvine, Calif., which was active in metro Denver, filed Chapter 11 early this McStain’s largest unsecured creditors include Scheer’s Inc. of Illinois (whicbh is owed $10.85 Key Bank ($3 million), CRE40p Centennial LLC-Crestone ($2 million) and William and Associatea ofBoulder ($1.
54 million), according to the bankruptcy Other unsecured creditors include Firsyt National Bank, GE Capital, Namastre Solar Electric Inc., Guy’s Floor Service Inc. and the City and Countyy of Denver (sales tax). McStain has taken significant steps to cut costd and shore up its flagging business in the last The builder’s former president and CEO, Eric voluntarily left the company in late summer 2008 to save and was replaced by McStaimn co-founder Tom Hoyt. Hoyt took the titles president andboare chairman. McStain Enterprises also closed its physical headquartersa operation in Louisvillelast November.
At that McStain had 21 employees, down from 75 peoplw early last fall and from a peak of 115 a fewyearse ago. Remaining employees were to create avirtuaol office, using cell phones and computers. Tom and Caroliner Hoyt, with their friend David Stainton, starteed McStain in 1966, when they bought a small Bouldef custom builder called HorizonBuildinhg Co. Over the years, the partners builrt the company from a simple custom builder to a designer and developerfof master-planned communities such as Indiabn Peaks in Lafayette and MeadowView in Longmont. They also moved into energy-efficient housing.
McStain has worked on several urban infill as well, including ones in Denver’s Lowry and Stapleton neighborhoods and Belmarr in Lakewood.
The Louisville-based company declarede $10 million to $50 million in and the same range in McStain -- which does business as McStain Neighborhood -- has told customers it plans to sell its finisheed homes and complete those that are under The filing does not affect the Indianm Peaks South neighborhood because of a separatre ownership structure. In February of this year, McStain told customerzs on its websitethat “we have been assured by our bankers and other professional associates that we are healthier than most of the private builders they deal with. To paraphrase Mark Twain: ‘The rumors of our demis have beengreatly exaggerated.
’ Rumors that we filedx for bankruptcy are simply not true.” Othed Colorado builders to declare Chapter 11 recentlt include Village Homes of Colorado in Greenwood Village, whichj had last year’s largesgt local bankruptcy reorganization with $138.4r million in debt, and Tousa Inc., the Florida-baseds parent of Colorado’s Engle Homes Inc. John Lain Homes of Irvine, Calif., which was active in metro Denver, filed Chapter 11 early this McStain’s largest unsecured creditors include Scheer’s Inc. of Illinois (whicbh is owed $10.85 Key Bank ($3 million), CRE40p Centennial LLC-Crestone ($2 million) and William and Associatea ofBoulder ($1.
54 million), according to the bankruptcy Other unsecured creditors include Firsyt National Bank, GE Capital, Namastre Solar Electric Inc., Guy’s Floor Service Inc. and the City and Countyy of Denver (sales tax). McStain has taken significant steps to cut costd and shore up its flagging business in the last The builder’s former president and CEO, Eric voluntarily left the company in late summer 2008 to save and was replaced by McStaimn co-founder Tom Hoyt. Hoyt took the titles president andboare chairman. McStain Enterprises also closed its physical headquartersa operation in Louisvillelast November.
At that McStain had 21 employees, down from 75 peoplw early last fall and from a peak of 115 a fewyearse ago. Remaining employees were to create avirtuaol office, using cell phones and computers. Tom and Caroliner Hoyt, with their friend David Stainton, starteed McStain in 1966, when they bought a small Bouldef custom builder called HorizonBuildinhg Co. Over the years, the partners builrt the company from a simple custom builder to a designer and developerfof master-planned communities such as Indiabn Peaks in Lafayette and MeadowView in Longmont. They also moved into energy-efficient housing.
McStain has worked on several urban infill as well, including ones in Denver’s Lowry and Stapleton neighborhoods and Belmarr in Lakewood.
Friday, September 23, 2011
PG&E Corp. names new CEO - San Francisco Business Times:
kowutoco.wordpress.com
Christopher Johns, currently the company's senior vice president and will replace Darbee as chieffinancial PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) is the parent compang of California's largest utility, Glynn will continur as chairman of the boardsof PG&wE Corp. and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. through the end of 2005 and then retirw as an employee anda director. Darbee, 51, joinede PG&E Corp. as senior vice presidentt and chief financial officer in 1999. Previously, he was vice presidengt and CFOof , a telecommunications manufacturer of digital loop carrier systems and subsidiar of (NASDAQ: TLAB).
Before joininy AFC, he was vice president, CFO and controller of Pacific now a unitof SBC). Earlier, he was an investment banker with (NYSE: GS), where he was vice president and co-head of the company'e energy and telecommunications group. He also held positionw at and (NYSE: T). The job changes are effectivs Jan. 1, 2005.
Christopher Johns, currently the company's senior vice president and will replace Darbee as chieffinancial PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) is the parent compang of California's largest utility, Glynn will continur as chairman of the boardsof PG&wE Corp. and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. through the end of 2005 and then retirw as an employee anda director. Darbee, 51, joinede PG&E Corp. as senior vice presidentt and chief financial officer in 1999. Previously, he was vice presidengt and CFOof , a telecommunications manufacturer of digital loop carrier systems and subsidiar of (NASDAQ: TLAB).
Before joininy AFC, he was vice president, CFO and controller of Pacific now a unitof SBC). Earlier, he was an investment banker with (NYSE: GS), where he was vice president and co-head of the company'e energy and telecommunications group. He also held positionw at and (NYSE: T). The job changes are effectivs Jan. 1, 2005.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
BankUnited could use $1 billion - South Florida Business Journal:
vavyzina.wordpress.com
Coral Gables-based would have needed about $1 billio n in total risk-based capital to meet regulatoruy requirements at the endof March, the companyh said in a filing. The filinb on Tuesday gave preliminaruy results forthe quarter, but they are subjecr to further revision. The bank lost an estimatede $443.1 million in the quarter ended March 31, which is the second fiscalk quarter for BankUnited (NASDAQ: BKUNA). The company made the filinhg to disclose that it would be late submittiny its final second quarter report withthe SEC.
BankUnitedx said its financial results from the quarter ended 30 onward are preliminary and coulx change based on additional accounting The company said it hasa “material weakness” in its internal accounting controls. BankUnited reiterated its warning that the coulf place itinto receivership. Regulators gave the bank untilk May 4 to strika merger, acquisition or investment deal, and the companhy acknowledged that it hasn’t complie with that order. Source s say three bidders are in talkes with BankUnited and regulators aboutt a deal forthe bank: with the assistance of ; the combination of W.L. Ross, and ; and a grou p involving the J.C. Flowers & Co.
hedge However, some analysts believe BankUnited’ss assets aren’t worth the $1 billion it woulsd take to recapitalizethe bank. If a buyer doesn’t pay the full the federal government could chip in the rest through an investmengt or throughFDIC receivership. “It appears that managemenrt is doing everything possible to meet the terms of the outstandingh regulatory agreements to facilitatean investment,” Miami-based banking analys t and economist Kenneth H. Thomas said. “The priorith now is to get a resolution of this situation ASAP with as much privates capitalas possible.
” In its SEC BankUnited noted that it has been trying to rais e capital for more than a “Although management continues to seek capital at the holdinh company level, our efforts at this time primaril relate to a direct recapitalization of the bank,” BankUnites stated in the filing. “Ni assurance can be given that we will be able to raiss capital at either the bank or the holdintcompany level. In addition, a recapitalization of the bank withouy a simultaneous recapitalization of the holdingh company would reduce or eliminatethe company’zs ownership in the bank, thus raisintg substantial doubt about the company’s abilitgy to continue as a going concern.
” The bank reported that it has sufficient liquidity to meet needs. Deposits at FDIC-insured banks are coveres up to $250,000 per Despite all its challenges, BankUnitexd increased its total depositsto $8.7 billio as of March 31, up from $8.543 billion at year-end. The bank has advertised interest ratesa that are higher than most ofits competitors. BankUnited had $13.133 billion in assets and negative equitg capitalof $505.6 million on March 31, compares to $13.76 billion in assets and negative equity capitalo of $13.4 million on Dec. 31.
That meanes its federally mandated capital ratios were also Its assets includednearly $5 billion in payment option adjustable-rate mortgages – a loan that allows borrowers to pay less than the accrueed interest on the mortgage until the balance grows to a certainb point. These loans are the main sourcsof BankUnited’s troubles. It was also hurt by downgradedc investmentsin mortgage-backed securities. The bank holding company’s $443.1q million preliminary loss in the quartert ended March 31 came aftera $477.4 million preliminary loss in the previous The bank’s losses in the most recent quarter came mostly from a $295.
55 million expense to reserve for future loan losses and $231 milliob in charge-offs to bad loans. BankUnited said it had $1.9 8 billion in nonperforming representing 19.4 percent of its total loans, as of Marchj 31. That’s up from $1.63 billion in nonperforming or 15.1 percent of its total at year-end. The bank also reportex holding $154.2 million in repossessed property onMarch 31, up from $93.5 million in the previoux quarter.
Coral Gables-based would have needed about $1 billio n in total risk-based capital to meet regulatoruy requirements at the endof March, the companyh said in a filing. The filinb on Tuesday gave preliminaruy results forthe quarter, but they are subjecr to further revision. The bank lost an estimatede $443.1 million in the quarter ended March 31, which is the second fiscalk quarter for BankUnited (NASDAQ: BKUNA). The company made the filinhg to disclose that it would be late submittiny its final second quarter report withthe SEC.
BankUnitedx said its financial results from the quarter ended 30 onward are preliminary and coulx change based on additional accounting The company said it hasa “material weakness” in its internal accounting controls. BankUnited reiterated its warning that the coulf place itinto receivership. Regulators gave the bank untilk May 4 to strika merger, acquisition or investment deal, and the companhy acknowledged that it hasn’t complie with that order. Source s say three bidders are in talkes with BankUnited and regulators aboutt a deal forthe bank: with the assistance of ; the combination of W.L. Ross, and ; and a grou p involving the J.C. Flowers & Co.
hedge However, some analysts believe BankUnited’ss assets aren’t worth the $1 billion it woulsd take to recapitalizethe bank. If a buyer doesn’t pay the full the federal government could chip in the rest through an investmengt or throughFDIC receivership. “It appears that managemenrt is doing everything possible to meet the terms of the outstandingh regulatory agreements to facilitatean investment,” Miami-based banking analys t and economist Kenneth H. Thomas said. “The priorith now is to get a resolution of this situation ASAP with as much privates capitalas possible.
” In its SEC BankUnited noted that it has been trying to rais e capital for more than a “Although management continues to seek capital at the holdinh company level, our efforts at this time primaril relate to a direct recapitalization of the bank,” BankUnites stated in the filing. “Ni assurance can be given that we will be able to raiss capital at either the bank or the holdintcompany level. In addition, a recapitalization of the bank withouy a simultaneous recapitalization of the holdingh company would reduce or eliminatethe company’zs ownership in the bank, thus raisintg substantial doubt about the company’s abilitgy to continue as a going concern.
” The bank reported that it has sufficient liquidity to meet needs. Deposits at FDIC-insured banks are coveres up to $250,000 per Despite all its challenges, BankUnitexd increased its total depositsto $8.7 billio as of March 31, up from $8.543 billion at year-end. The bank has advertised interest ratesa that are higher than most ofits competitors. BankUnited had $13.133 billion in assets and negative equitg capitalof $505.6 million on March 31, compares to $13.76 billion in assets and negative equity capitalo of $13.4 million on Dec. 31.
That meanes its federally mandated capital ratios were also Its assets includednearly $5 billion in payment option adjustable-rate mortgages – a loan that allows borrowers to pay less than the accrueed interest on the mortgage until the balance grows to a certainb point. These loans are the main sourcsof BankUnited’s troubles. It was also hurt by downgradedc investmentsin mortgage-backed securities. The bank holding company’s $443.1q million preliminary loss in the quartert ended March 31 came aftera $477.4 million preliminary loss in the previous The bank’s losses in the most recent quarter came mostly from a $295.
55 million expense to reserve for future loan losses and $231 milliob in charge-offs to bad loans. BankUnited said it had $1.9 8 billion in nonperforming representing 19.4 percent of its total loans, as of Marchj 31. That’s up from $1.63 billion in nonperforming or 15.1 percent of its total at year-end. The bank also reportex holding $154.2 million in repossessed property onMarch 31, up from $93.5 million in the previoux quarter.
Monday, September 19, 2011
What Do Stanford and UCLA Have in Common?
manuscripts-shuwatu.blogspot.com
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- , and UCLA studentf team , as they have been awarded $5000 Scholarships and internships from both iFLY SanFranciscpo Bay, and iFLY Hollywood respectively. iFLY California, whicj includes both iFLY San Francisco Bay and iFLY Hollywoodf atUniversal CityWalk(R), were seeking originaol campaigns to use "viral marketing" as a strateg to help make iFLY vertical wind tunnels a globa franchise. The students won the cash scholarship, a summedr internship, and a year's worth of free flight. from Stanforfd will be implementing his viral marketinbg idea at the iFLY SFBay tunnel. will work with the Hollywoofd location.
, owner of iFLY California states, "We are elated to offed scholarships and internships to these deserving students in thesweeconomic times. I have complete faithb that cultivating their ideas will move iFLY farthet forward than it has everflown before."" Winners were announced June 1st, 2009 To view all detailsz go to Located in Union City, iFLY San Franciscoi Bay entertains all kinds of customers including children, experienced skydivers, corporate groups, birthda y parties and military training. Their highly qualified instructore offer a safe yet exciting atmosphere for all to experience the thrillof flight. iFLY Hollywood is locatee at Universal CityWalk(R).
Kids, teens and adults experience the world of skydiving in a 36 foot clead view verticalwind tunnel. Birthday parties, corporatse groups, Kid's Club, educational programs, first time flightsa and many other packages are offered to accommodatewany adventure. SKYVENTURE, LLC SkyVenture is the world'as largest and most experienced designere and builder of vertical wind It has sold 33 vertical wind tunneld in nine different countries acrossthe globe. SkyVenture'ds wall-to-wall airflow, multiple overhead fans and cuttingb edge technologies provide the safest and most accurate freefallsimulatiob possible.
These technologies are protected by multipled patents in 32countries
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- , and UCLA studentf team , as they have been awarded $5000 Scholarships and internships from both iFLY SanFranciscpo Bay, and iFLY Hollywood respectively. iFLY California, whicj includes both iFLY San Francisco Bay and iFLY Hollywoodf atUniversal CityWalk(R), were seeking originaol campaigns to use "viral marketing" as a strateg to help make iFLY vertical wind tunnels a globa franchise. The students won the cash scholarship, a summedr internship, and a year's worth of free flight. from Stanforfd will be implementing his viral marketinbg idea at the iFLY SFBay tunnel. will work with the Hollywoofd location.
, owner of iFLY California states, "We are elated to offed scholarships and internships to these deserving students in thesweeconomic times. I have complete faithb that cultivating their ideas will move iFLY farthet forward than it has everflown before."" Winners were announced June 1st, 2009 To view all detailsz go to Located in Union City, iFLY San Franciscoi Bay entertains all kinds of customers including children, experienced skydivers, corporate groups, birthda y parties and military training. Their highly qualified instructore offer a safe yet exciting atmosphere for all to experience the thrillof flight. iFLY Hollywood is locatee at Universal CityWalk(R).
Kids, teens and adults experience the world of skydiving in a 36 foot clead view verticalwind tunnel. Birthday parties, corporatse groups, Kid's Club, educational programs, first time flightsa and many other packages are offered to accommodatewany adventure. SKYVENTURE, LLC SkyVenture is the world'as largest and most experienced designere and builder of vertical wind It has sold 33 vertical wind tunneld in nine different countries acrossthe globe. SkyVenture'ds wall-to-wall airflow, multiple overhead fans and cuttingb edge technologies provide the safest and most accurate freefallsimulatiob possible.
These technologies are protected by multipled patents in 32countries
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Rollins still roaring at 80 - Ottawa Citizen
awipekyhila.blogspot.com
Rollins still roaring at 80 Ottawa Citizen When saxophonist Sonny Rollins staged a triumphal 80th birthday concert in New York in September 2010, the show was immediately hailed as an historic event. Rollins was joined not only by a stalwart working ... Review: Rollins, Coleman Pair up for First Time Sonny Rollins: Road Shows Vol 2 |
Thursday, September 15, 2011
For this guy, you have to spell it out - Washington Post
loxezop.wordpress.com
For this guy, you have to spell it out Washington Post Some people (like my husband) aren't afraid of asking for what they want, and don't always understand when you don't come out with what YOU want. Now that I'm comfortable articulating my needs, I kind of like it this way better. ... |
Monday, September 12, 2011
Creative Loafing COO Kirk MacDonald heads back to Denver - Wichita Business Journal:
lydiryl.wordpress.com
MacDonald will take over as executive vice presiden tfor sales, marketing and digital sales for the , the one-timd partnership group that includefd the and until the latter folded last February, accordingf to the Chicago Reader . MacDonald joined Creativ e Loafing in 2006 after resigning as chief executive officer of the Denver Newspaper Agency but continued to live in Denve r instead of relocating toCreative Loafing’s headquarters in In September 2008 he became publisher of the Chicagoo Reader , relocating there, around the same time Creative Loafingh filed for protection from its creditors using Chapter 11 in a Tampa bankruptch court.
Creative Loafing’s chief executive officer, Ben will temporarily take over the role of chieoperating officer. The company spentt the first part of the year in a bittedr battlewith , whichj it owes $31 million that was used to purchaser the Chicago Reader and in the District of Columbi a in 2007. Atalaya had sought to gain controlp of the alternative weekly newspaper publisheer but lost that bid in March when a judge in Tampa siderwith Eason. Creative Loafing had untilp Tuesday to file any amendmentsw to its most recent plan of organization filedMay 11.
Amongv the issues addressed under thenew plan, a new grouop consisting of — which Creativse Loafing owed $10 million to just beforre the bankruptcy filing — and Easonj will purchase stock in a reorganized Creativ Loafing for $500,000 in cash as well as an in-kindr contribution to lease 14,000 square feet of commercial spaces in Atlanta for six yearws valued at $196,000 annually that will be used for Creative Loafint Atlanta Inc., according to bankruptcy courtt documents. After that, $500,000 will be used to pay alloweed administrative claims and prioritytax claims, whiler another $1 million will be used for supplemental funding for Creative Loafing’s ongoing business.
Any remainingg money will be paid to those holding specific including outstanding loans made tothe company. Creative Loafing has publicationsin Tampa, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington and Charlotte, N.C. It claims a combinedx circulationof 425,000.
MacDonald will take over as executive vice presiden tfor sales, marketing and digital sales for the , the one-timd partnership group that includefd the and until the latter folded last February, accordingf to the Chicago Reader . MacDonald joined Creativ e Loafing in 2006 after resigning as chief executive officer of the Denver Newspaper Agency but continued to live in Denve r instead of relocating toCreative Loafing’s headquarters in In September 2008 he became publisher of the Chicagoo Reader , relocating there, around the same time Creative Loafingh filed for protection from its creditors using Chapter 11 in a Tampa bankruptch court.
Creative Loafing’s chief executive officer, Ben will temporarily take over the role of chieoperating officer. The company spentt the first part of the year in a bittedr battlewith , whichj it owes $31 million that was used to purchaser the Chicago Reader and in the District of Columbi a in 2007. Atalaya had sought to gain controlp of the alternative weekly newspaper publisheer but lost that bid in March when a judge in Tampa siderwith Eason. Creative Loafing had untilp Tuesday to file any amendmentsw to its most recent plan of organization filedMay 11.
Amongv the issues addressed under thenew plan, a new grouop consisting of — which Creativse Loafing owed $10 million to just beforre the bankruptcy filing — and Easonj will purchase stock in a reorganized Creativ Loafing for $500,000 in cash as well as an in-kindr contribution to lease 14,000 square feet of commercial spaces in Atlanta for six yearws valued at $196,000 annually that will be used for Creative Loafint Atlanta Inc., according to bankruptcy courtt documents. After that, $500,000 will be used to pay alloweed administrative claims and prioritytax claims, whiler another $1 million will be used for supplemental funding for Creative Loafing’s ongoing business.
Any remainingg money will be paid to those holding specific including outstanding loans made tothe company. Creative Loafing has publicationsin Tampa, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington and Charlotte, N.C. It claims a combinedx circulationof 425,000.
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